The prosocial and pro-environmental aspects of authenticity and the mediating role of self-transcendence

Greater authenticity is linked to more favorable attitudes toward helping others and engagement in pro-environmental behaviors. Data from 129 Turkish participants who completed measures of authenticity, environmental behavior, helping attitudes, and self-transcendence showed that the connections between authenticity and altruistic helping attitudes, as well as receiving and giving help, were mediated by self-transcendence. This is the first investigation of self-transcendence in this context, suggesting that authenticity not only benefits personal well-being but also promotes prosociality and ecological sensitivity.

Study at a glance

Abstract

ABSTRACT A considerable body of relevant literature has grown up around the theme of authenticity, showing the critical role it has in relation to a variety of indicators of individual well-being. The personal benefits of authenticity are now well documented. However, in this paper we hypothesize that authenticity is not only beneficial to the person themselves, but that it also promotes prosociality and ecological sensitivity. This study used cross-sectional data from one hundred and twenty-nine Turkish participants, who completed Turkish version of the Authenticity Scale, The Environmental Behavior Scale, The Helping Attitudes Scale and The Self-Transcendence Scale. The findings reported here show that greater authenticity was associated with more favorable attitudes to helping others and engagement in pro-environmental behaviors. Furthermore, the present research explored, for the first time, the effects of self-transcendence. The results showed that the associations between authenticity and helping attitudes of altruism as well as receiving and giving were mediated by self-transcendence. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed in terms of humanistic perspectives on authenticity.