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14

Rebecca J. Schlegel, Joshua A. Hicks, and Andrew G. Christy

14.1

The Eudaimonics of the True Self

This chapter will explore our growing program of research that examines the meaning-making function of the true self-concept, as well as existing theory and empirical research on the importance of the true self. We argue that the true self plays a critical role in one’s ability to experience eudemonic well-being. More specifically, we argue that behaviors people perceive to be consistent with their true self enhance the experience of meaning. In our research, we further argue that the true self-concept itself (i.e. a person’s avowed true self) serves as a hub of meaning by guiding decision-making and serving as a justification for one’s choices that needs no further justification. We argue that this allows people to imbue their life activities with subjective meaning.

14.2

The True Self

What is the true self? Historically, the true self was characterized as a set of innate characteristics that each person is born with and must discover within his or her self (e.g. (Horney, 1950; Miller, 1979; Rogers, 1959). By comparison, contempo-

R.J. Schlegel (*) • J.A. Hicks • A.G. Christy Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA e-mail: [email protected]

rary psychological theorists have tended to take a more fluid approach to defining the true self. For example, self-determination theory (SDT) argues that the true self is not a static set of traits or tendencies, rather it is any self-aspect that feels autonomous, internally caused, personally meaningful, and self-determined (DeCharms, 1968; Deci, 1980; Deci & Ryan, 1985, 1991; Ryan, 1993). Of course even a fluid approaches to the true self may still be influenced by innate characteristics. What feels autonomous to one person may not feel autonomous to another and those differences may be explained, in part, by differences in innate characteristics. While debates about the “true” nature of the true self are intellectually interesting, it is equally important to consider what laypeople think about the true self. This is because the true self may be similar to other psychological constructs such as free will (Vohs & Schooler, 2008; Wegner, 2002) in that it is the perception of reality that matters as much, if not more, than the actual reality (particularly given that the “actual reality” may be impossible to determine!). Such “phenomenological realties” need not actually exist to have important psychological consequences (Gergen, 1977, 1985). To the extent that people believe they have a true self, it is likely that the perceived true self will influence other important domains of their lives. Thus our research has largely taken a lay theories approach (e.g., Molden & Dweck, 2006) to addressing the issue of the true self.

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 J. Vittersø (ed.), Handbook of Eudaimonic Well-Being, International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42445-3_14

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Interestingly, laypeop