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Hiding your true colors may make you feel morally tainted
- Date:
- May 21, 2015
- Source:
- Association for Psychological Science
- Summary:
- The advice, whether from Shakespeare or a modern self-help guru, is common: Be true to yourself. New research suggests that this drive for authenticity -- living in accordance with our sense of self, emotions, and values -- may be so fundamental that we actually feel immoral and impure when we violate our true sense of self. This sense of impurity, in turn, may lead us to engage in cleansing or charitable behaviors as a way of clearing our conscience.
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The advice, whether from Shakespeare or a modern self-help guru, is common: Be true to yourself. New research suggests that this drive for authenticity -- living in accordance with our sense of self, emotions, and values -- may be so fundamental that we actually feel immoral and impure when we violate our true sense of self. This sense of impurity, in turn, may lead us to engage in cleansing or charitable behaviors as a way of clearing our conscience.
Story Source:
Materials provided by Association for Psychological Science. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
- F. Gino, M. Kouchaki, A. D. Galinsky. The Moral Virtue of Authenticity: How Inauthenticity Produces Feelings of Immorality and Impurity. Psychological Science, 2015; DOI: 10.1177/0956797615575277
Cite This Page:
Association for Psychological Science. "Hiding your true colors may make you feel morally tainted." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 21 May 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com
Association for Psychological Science. (2015, May 21). Hiding your true colors may make you feel morally tainted. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 8, 2025 from www.sciencedaily.com
Association for Psychological Science. "Hiding your true colors may make you feel morally tainted." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com
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