How Are Authenticity and Self-Actualization Connected?

By Linda Fisher Thornton Authenticity has become a common term used to describe a level of human growth or attainment. I previously wrote about the multiple dimensions of authenticity and how they relate to living an intentional, aware, and ethical life. I became curious about how authenticity relates to measures of human development and Maslow's concept of self-actualization. Scott Barry Kaufman, a humanistic psychologist who tested and built on Maslow's research, includes Authenticity in the list of 10 characteristics of Self-Actualization.