When I Feel Devalued I Dont Feel Like

When I Feel Devalued, I Don’t Feel Like My ‘True Self’: Identity Devaluation Predicts Inauthenticity Among Cultural Minority Students Audrey Aday | The University of British Columbia Existential Psychology Preconference

”I don’t fit” 2

There Are 3 Ways to Feel Fit to the Environment Does it allow me to work toward my goals? Goal Fit Do other people there accept me? Does it represent who I am? Social Fit Self-Concept Fit Schmader & Sedikides (2018) 3

Fit Predicts State Authenticity State authenticity = current alignment with a true or genuine self me now true me Schmader & Sedikides (2018); Sedikides et al. (2017) 4

What Are the Benefits of the ‘True Self? ’ Greater sense of well -being Positive, moral sense of self Kifer, Heller, Perunovic, & Galinsky, 2013; Thomaes et al. , 2017; Newman, Bloom, & Knobe, 2014; Gino et al. , 2015; Jongman-Sereno & Leary, 2016 5 Affirmation of selfintegrity

How Devaluation Undermines Fit on the University Campus 16% think international students are devalued. Cheryan, Plaut, Davies, & Steele, 2009; Diekman, Brown, Johnston, & Clark, 2010; Stephens et al. , 2012; Walton & Cohen, 2007, 2011 6

Fit in the Context of University Culture • 14, 434 international students • 162 different countries • 46 countries in our sample Source: The University of British Columbia, Overview and Facts 2016/2017 7

Does Feeling One’s Identity is Valued Predict Fit and Authenticity? • • Pilot–– N = 41 foreign-born students Follow-Up –– NN == 152 foreign-born students (osf. io/p 8 fn) Self-Concept Fit. 47*** . 35 Goal Fit . 09 . 43**. 40** Feeling Identity is Valued Social Fit . 55** . 34* (-. 08) β =. 42, SE =. 12, 95% CI = [. 20, . 67] 8 State Authenticity

Does Feeling One’s Identity is Valued Predict Fit and Authenticity? • Pilot – N = 41 foreign-born students • Follow-Up – N = 152 foreign-born students (osf. io/p 8 fn) Self-Concept Fit. 26*** . 23* Goal Fit -. 05 . 34**. 33** Feeling Identity is Valued Social Fit . 38*** . 21* (. 04) β =. 17, SE =. 05, 95% CI = [. 07, . 29] 9 State Authenticity

What Are the Implications for Motivation? • Pilot – N = 41 foreign-born students • Follow-Up – N = 152 foreign-born students (osf. io/p 8 fn) Fit . 49*** State Authenticity . 37*** -. 19* -. 09 . 03 Feeling Identity is Valued -. 06 (. 01) β = -. 03, SE =. 02, 95% CI = [-. 08, -. 003] 10 State Avoidance

The Take-Home Message • State authenticity is linked to a number of psychological benefits • Identity devaluation presents an obstacle to realizing these benefits • Feeling one’s identity is valued can shore up fit and authenticity 11

Thanks! • Toni Schmader • Constantine Sedikides • The Social Identity Lab aday@psych. ubc. ca @audreyeaday