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BIGAO, Carla Ericka Submitted: 01 December 2023

DLSU ID – 12113885 GEUSELF – Y13

AUTHENTICITY SCALE

British researcher Alex Wood is one of the leading figures in the scientific exploration of
authenticity. Authenticity is, essentially, being genuine or true. From a scientific point of view the
idea that there is a “true self” and that this self can be reflected in actions and emotions is
problematic. It is difficult, for example, to measure this genuine core and to gauge its distance
from the daily experience of life. When you speak out in anger, do something unusually risky, or
help another person, how are we to know whether these acts are “authentic?” One way of assessing
this elusive concept would be to see how typical these acts are for an individual. From a
psychological perspective, authenticity is principally about bringing one’s beliefs and actions into
harmony, a synthesis of a person’s behaviors with their identity. Wood and his colleagues refer to
three primary aspects of authenticity: “self-alienation” (the subjective experience of not knowing
oneself, or feeling out of touch with the true self), “authentic living” (the degree to which a person
lives in accord with her values), and “accepting external influences” (being influenced by the
beliefs and desires of others). Wood and his colleagues created the following scale.

AUTHENTICITY SCALE

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Does not Describes describe me
me at all perfectly

1. 7 “I think it is better to be yourself, than to be popular.”

2. 2 “I don’t know how I really feel inside.”
3. 4 “I am strongly influenced by the opinions of others.”
4. 3 “I usually do what other people tell me to do.”
5. 2 “I always feel I need to do what others expect me to do.”
6. 1 “Other people influence me greatly.”
7. 2 “I feel as if I don’t know myself very well.”
8. 6 “I always stand by what I believe in.”
9. 7 “I am true to myself in most situations.”
10. 1 “I feel out of touch with the ‘real me.’”
11. 7 “I live in accordance with my values and beliefs.”
12. 1 “I feel alienated from myself.”

You can use these scoring instructions to derive scores for the three dimensions of authenticity. Indicate
your scores in the fourth column. Total Items 1, 8, 9,and 11 for Authentic Living; Items 3, 4, 5, and 6 for
Accepting External Influence; and Items 2, 7, 10, and 12 for Self-Alienation.
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Total Scores:
Authentic Living 27
Accepting External Influence 10
Self-Alienation 6

Total Scores Students Mean Score Community Mean Score

Authentic Living: 27 22.05 19.02
(higher)
Accepting External Influence:10 10.84 12.46
(close to mean)
Self-Alienation: 6 13.34 13.67
(lower)

SOURCES:
1. Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). Practicing positive psychology: Assessment, activities, and strategies for success.
Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
2. Wood, A., Linley, A., Maltby, J., Baliousis, M., & Joseph, S. (2008). The authentic personality: A theoretical
and empirical conceptualization and the development of authenticity scale. Journal of Counseling Psychology,
55, 385-399.