Sincere significance: the mediating role of basic psychological need satisfaction in the relationship between authenticity and meaning in life
Summary
Current study investigates the mediating role of basic psychological need satisfaction in the
relationship between authenticity and meaning in life. The self-determination theory states that
authenticity and meaning in life are dependent on the degree to which one is satisfied in one’s
basic psychological needs. Further, it states that the concepts of authenticity and meaning in
life are related. Online questionnaire data (N = 158) revealed that authenticity and meaning in
life were positively related. Furthermore, no contribution of any separate basic need to meaning
in life was found and no separate basic need was found to mediate the relationship between
authenticity and meaning in life. The basic needs combined were responsible for a small
contribution to meaning in life and a marginal partial mediation in the relationship between
authenticity and meaning in life. Given the numerous benefits meaning in life brings, it is
recommended to grant the authentic quest to meaning in life a prominent status in
psychotherapy, beyond merely basic psychological need satisfaction.