The Relevance of Big Five Trait Content in Behavior to Subjective Authenticity: Do High Levels of Within‐Person Behavioral Variability Undermine or Enable Authenticity Achievement?

Abstract

Individuals vary their behavior from moment to moment a great deal, often acting "out of character" for their traits. This article investigates the consequences for authenticity. We compared 2 hypotheses-trait consistency, that individuals feel most authentic when acting in a way consistent with their traits; and state-content significance, that some ways of acting feel more authentic because of their content and consequences, regardless of the actor's corresponding traits. Three studies using experience-sampling methodology in laboratory and natural settings, with participants ages 18-51, strongly supported the state-content significance hypothesis and did not support the trait-consistency hypothesis. Authenticity was consistently associated with acting highly extraverted, agreeable, conscientious, emotionally stable, and intellectual, regardless of the actor's traits. Discussion focuses on possible implications for within-person variability in behavior and for the nature of the self-concept.