Article
Trends in Cognitive Sciences

Origins of the Belief in Good True Selves

By: Julian De Freitas, Mina Cikara, Igor Grossman and Rebecca Schlegel

Format:Print

Abstract

Despite differences in beliefs about the self across cultures and relevant individual differences, recent evidence suggests that people universally believe in a ‘true self’ that is morally good. We propose that this belief arises from a general tendency: psychological essentialism (PE).

Keywords

Self; True Self; Psychological Essentialism; Values and Beliefs; Moral Sensibility

Citation

De Freitas, Julian, Mina Cikara, Igor Grossman, and Rebecca Schlegel. "Origins of the Belief in Good True Selves." Trends in Cognitive Sciences 21, no. 9 (September 2017): 634–636.