Exploring the relations between self-monitoring, authenticity, and well-being

The self-monitoring literature often describes those high in the construct as social chameleons, thereby implying they lack authenticity. However, direct examination of this assumption within the literature remains scant. The current study examines this relation and further explores how these constructs relate to well-being. In a crosssectional study (N = 629), participants completed measures of self-monitoring, authenticity, and well-being. Total self-monitoring scores were inversely related to authenticity, however the relationship was small because the public performance and other-directedness dimensions of self-monitoring related to authenticity in different directions. Public performance related moderately and positively to authenticity, whereas other-directness related strongly and negatively to authenticity. Authenticity mediated the effects of these self-monitoring dimensions on well-being. Moreover, authenticity and public performance interacted such that public performance related positively to well-being when authenticity was high, but not when authenticity was low. Similarly, total self monitoring scores related positively to positive relationships with others when authenticity was high, and related positively to well-being when authenticity was held constant. The results have implications for self-monitoring theory, challenging the general notion that those on the high end of self-monitoring are not authentic, and highlighting the conditions under which self-monitoring relates to well-being. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.