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Updated: Jun 27, 2026

A Cross-Disciplinary and Multi-Modal Experimental Design for Studying Near-Real-Time Authentic Examination Experiences
Published on: September 4, 2019
Within-person relationships among daily self-esteem, need satisfaction, and authenticity
Whitney L Heppner1, Michael H Kernis, John B Nezlek
1Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-3013, USA. whithepp@uga.edu
Abstract:
This study examined the within-person relationships among daily self-esteem, felt authenticity (i.e., the operation of one's "true self"), and satisfaction of psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. We also included measures of affect to control for the variance these constructs might share with affect. Over a 2-week period, 116 participants responded daily to measures of these variables. Multilevel random-coefficients modeling revealed that authenticity, autonomy, competence, and relatedness were all positively and significantly related to daily reports of self-esteem, even when we controlled for the contributions of pleasant and unpleasant affect. We discuss the roles of authenticity and psychological needs in daily feelings of self-worth.
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