Daydreams and the True Self: Daydreaming Styles Are Related to Authenticity. (December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Williams, Honey; Vess, Matthew
• Is Part Of: Imagination, cognition and personality. Volume 36:Number 2(2016:Dec.)
• Page Start: 128
• Page End: 149
• Publication Date: 2016-12
• Subjects: authenticity -- daydreaming -- mindwandering -- true self-concept -- stream of consciousness; Consciousness -- Periodicals; Imagination -- Periodicals; Personality -- Periodicals; 153
• DOI: 10.1177/0276236616646065
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0276-2366

Abstract

The feeling of knowing and expressing one's true self (i.e., authenticity) is a critical component of well-being. This research examined how patterns of inner mental experience, or daydreaming styles, relate to differences in authenticity. In two online studies, participants completed a series of personality measures, including measures of daydreaming styles and authenticity. Study 1 ( N = 201) and Study 2 ( N = 203) generally supported our hypotheses. Positive constructive daydreaming predicted greater feelings of authentic living and lower feelings of true self-alienation, and guilty/fear-of-failure daydreaming predicted lower levels of authentic living and greater feelings of both true self-alienation and acceptance of external influence. Moreover, we found that poor attentional control was a consistent positive predictor of true self-alienation and a weak predictor of acceptance of external influence. These findings offer novel insight into how daydreaming relates to people's subjective sense of knowing and being who they truly are.