The social meanings of authenticity: an empirical study of university students

Ramon Menendez Domingo

Authenticity has become a new form of social value in Western contemporary societies. On an individual level, this trend can be observed in contemporary cultural demands towards “being yourself” or “being authentic”, particularly, in self-help books and products. According to the sociological literature on this topic, being authentic means acting in accordance with one’s own idea of core self. One’s own idea of core self is constituted by one’s own values, beliefs, identities... I argue that individuals’ meanings and experiences of authenticity are socially constructed. This stand has been maintained among the sociological studies of authenticity, but due to the difficulties that these studies encounter when defining authenticity, there are not many empirical studies about it. My thesis contributes to develop the sociological empirical knowledge of authenticity by focusing on the social context that individuals inhabit and their cultural backgrounds. I suggest that these two social factors play an important role in shaping individuals’ meanings and experiences of authenticity. My thesis is a replication of and a complement to another research study that the sociologist Ralph Turner carried out in 1973 at La Trobe University, among other universities of the English Speaking world. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data of a survey with 138 respondents and 20 interviewees with university students from this university, I compare Turner’s quantitative results and mine, and I expand on them, with a qualitative analysis. I conclude that sociology is necessary to understand authenticity as a cultural phenomenon on its individual level.