Authentic Allyship? Feeling Authentic Increases Allyship Behavior Via Greater Psychological Standing

Despite concerns about inauthentic allyship, research has yet to examine allies’ own feelings of authenticity. We suggest a lack of felt authenticity (or subjective alignment between internal and external states) as an ally can be a barrier to allyship, and propose that affirming allies’ authenticity may increase allyship via increased psychological standing. We test our hypotheses across 4 studies (N=2286). First, we find that felt authenticity was associated with greater engagement in allyship after the murder of George Floyd. Next, we present two experiments which provide causal evidence that increased feelings of authenticity as an ally can lead to greater allyship in a real-world setting. Finally, we use a pre-registered experiment to show when felt authenticity is first bolstered, individuals report greater psychological standing and are more likely to support and enact allyship. We discuss important implications for efforts to cultivate allies, introducing a simple intervention to affirm allies’ authenticity.