Investigating the relationships of free will belief, presence of meaning in life, and self-consciousness with authenticity: a mixed-methods study

Abstract

Authenticity refers to personality and situational characteristics that enhance the psychological well-being of individuals. Authenticity develops under the influence of various factors. Drawing on the Theory of Existential Psychotherapy (EPT) framework, the present study aimed to investigate the extent to which free will belief, self-consciousness, and presence of meaning in life predict authenticity. The researchers used a mixed-method design to examine the relationship between these predictors and authenticity. The sample consisted of 505 participants, with 455 in the quantitative design and 50 in the qualitative design. The quantitative analyses revealed a positive association between presence of meaning in life and self-consciousness with authenticity. The findings suggest that self-consciousness mediates the relationship between presence of meaning in life and authenticity, and between free will belief and authenticity, with a full mediating effect for free will belief and a partial mediating effect for presence of meaning in life. The qualitative analyses elucidated the relationships between free will belief-authenticity, life meaning-authenticity, self-consciousness-authenticity, and free will belief-presence of meaning in life-self-consciousness-authenticity. Overall, the findings indicate that the factors investigated, in line with the theoretical framework proposed in EPT, can enhance authenticity.