How Authentic Are You?
How closely the life you live matches the person you are
Authenticity sounds like a single quality, but the research that measured it properly found three: knowing who you are, acting in line with it, and how much other people's expectations steer you. They come apart more often than you would think. Plenty of people know exactly what they value and still spend their weeks doing what is expected of them - and it is that gap, not the knowing, that tends to wear people down.
Before you start There are no right answers. Pick what is usually true for you, not what sounds best.
Answer about your ordinary weeks - work, family, friends - not about the version of you on holiday.
What it measures
The three parts of the Authenticity Scale: authentic living (acting in line with your values), accepting external influence (how far other people's expectations shape what you do) and self-alienation (feeling out of touch with yourself). It is not the same as self-esteem or assertiveness, which the site measures separately - you can be confident and outspoken while following a script someone else wrote.
Based on: Authenticity Scale (Wood, Linley, Maltby, Baliousis & Joseph, 2008)
Possible results
Authentic living
Whether what you do matches what you believe.
Accepting outside influence
How much other people's expectations steer your choices.
Self-alienation
How often you feel out of touch with who you are.
Common questions
Is being authentic the same as saying whatever you think?
No. In this model authenticity starts inside - knowing what you feel and value - and only then shows up as behaviour. Choosing not to say something, for a good reason you actually hold, is authentic. Saying everything regardless of its effect is closer to impulsiveness than to being true to yourself.
Is it bad to be influenced by other people?
Not in itself. Everyone is influenced, and listening to people you trust is often wise. What the scale picks up is influence that replaces your own judgement rather than informing it. In cultures where family decisions are shared, a higher score can simply reflect how life is organised.
Can you become more authentic?
Yes, and usually through small moves rather than a dramatic reinvention. Noticing one situation where you routinely act against what you think, and changing only that, tends to shift more than a general vow. Studies that measure authenticity repeatedly also find it rises and falls with circumstances, so a low score now is not a fixed trait.
Sources
- Wood, A. M., Linley, P. A., Maltby, J., Baliousis, M., & Joseph, S. (2008). The authentic personality: A theoretical and empirical conceptualization and the development of the Authenticity Scale. Journal of Counseling Psychology. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.55.3.385
- Sutton, A. (2020). Living the good life: A meta-analysis of authenticity, well-being and engagement. Personality and Individual Differences. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2019.109645
An honest note The statements are Quinthea's own wording, adapted from the Authenticity Scale, so your scores cannot be compared with the published norms. Most of the research is correlational and drawn from Western samples, and a 2020 meta-analysis found that the link with wellbeing varies with how individualistic a culture is - following family expectations does not mean the same thing everywhere. This is not a diagnosis. If feeling detached from yourself is constant or distressing, talk to a professional.