The theory of the true-self posits that at our core, all human beings are naturally inclined towards morally virtuous behaviour. We tend to believe that we are all inherently good and noble deep down inside. Whether or not the theory of the true-self is indeed ‘true’ (Strohminger, Knobe, & Newman, 2017), thinking about a true-self has been shown to increase prosocial behaviour and reduce intergroup bias (De Freitas & Cikara, 2018).
On first glance, the True Self self-reflective written activity may appear quite similar to the Best Possible Self activity (King, 2001), however, an important distinction is that a possible self is described as a personal manifestation of goals (Markus & Nurius, 1986) whereas the true self aligns with inherent personal attributes that we believe already exist within us. The theory of the true-self allows people to identify their core strengths and virtues and to perceive this as an achievable benchmark to compare our current behaviour against. The True Self exercise combined with strengths or positive psychology coaching can be used to enhance self-awareness and a belief in one’s own abilities to behave virtuously (Moin & van Nieuwerburgh, in press), and to engage in self-concordant goal setting.
The exercise has worked well in coaching contexts where the client may be lacking confidence in their ability to fulfil a prosocial goal or role; that is, behaving in a way that helps to protect the welfare, rights and feelings of other people. They may be feeling disappointed by their own lack of awareness, past mistakes or action; sometimes linked to attitudes or behaviours that have resided outside of their conscious awareness (for example, unconscious bias).
This experiential session will combine positive psychology coaching with the True Self positive psychology intervention to help build self-efficacy and motivation to engage in pro-diversity behaviours.