Value Judgments and the True Self

The belief that individuals have a true self plays an important role in many areas of psychology as well as everyday life. the present studies demonstrate that people have a general tendency to conclude that the true self is fundamentally good-that is,that deep inside every individual,there is something motivating him or her to behave in ways that are virtuous. study 1 finds that observers are more likely to see a person's true self reflected in behaviors they deem to be morally good than in behaviors they deem to be bad. study 2 replicates this effect and demonstrates observers' own moral values influence what they judge to be another person's true self. finally,study 3 finds that this normative view of the true self is independent of the particular type of mental state (beliefs vs. feelings) that is seen as responsible for an agent's behavior. © 2013 by the society for personality and social psychology,inc.