Executive Summary 1 The Science of Awe White paper prepared for the John Templeton Foundation by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley Executive Summary If you’ve hiked among giant sequoias, stood in front of the Taj Mahal, or observed a particularly virtuosic musical performance, you may have experienced the mysterious and complex emotion known as “awe.” Awe experiences are self-transcendent. They shift our attention away from ourselves, make us feel like we are part of something greater than ourselves, and make us more generous toward others. But what is awe? What types of experiences are most likely to elicit feelings of awe? Are some people more prone to experiencing awe? And what are the effects of awe? While philosophers and religious scholars have explored awe for centuries, it was largely ignored by psychologists until the early 2000s. Since then, there has been growing interest in exploring awe empirically. This has led to a number of fascinating discoveries about the nature of awe, while also raising many questions still to be explored. What is awe? Awe is a complex emotion that can be difficult to define. Feelings of awe can be positive or negative—unlike most other emotions—and can arise from a wide range of stimuli. In a landmark 2003 paper, psychologists Dacher Keltner and Jonathan Haidt presented a “conceptual approach to awe.” In this paper, Keltner and Haidt suggested that awe experiences can be characterized by two phenomena: “perceived vastness” and a “need for accommodation.” “Perceived vastness” can come from observing something literally physically large—the Grand Canyon, for example—or from a more theoretical perceptual sense of vastness— such as being in the presence of someone with immense prestige or being presented with a complex idea like the theory of relativity. An experience evokes a “need for accommodation” when it violates our normal understanding of the world. When a stimulus exceeds our expectations in some way, it can provoke an attempt to change the mental structures that we use to understand the world.
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ExecutiveSummary 1
TheScienceofAweWhitepaperpreparedfortheJohnTempletonFoundationbytheGreaterGood
ScienceCenteratUCBerkeley
ExecutiveSummary
Ifyou’vehikedamonggiantsequoias,stoodinfrontoftheTajMahal,orobservedaparticularlyvirtuosicmusicalperformance,youmayhaveexperiencedthemysteriousandcomplexemotionknownas“awe.”Aweexperiencesareself-transcendent.Theyshiftourattentionawayfromourselves,makeusfeellikewearepartofsomethinggreaterthanourselves,andmakeusmoregeneroustowardothers.Butwhatisawe?Whattypesofexperiencesaremostlikelytoelicitfeelingsofawe?Aresomepeoplemorepronetoexperiencingawe?Andwhataretheeffectsofawe?Whilephilosophersandreligiousscholarshaveexploredaweforcenturies,itwaslargelyignoredbypsychologistsuntiltheearly2000s.Sincethen,therehasbeengrowinginterestinexploringaweempirically.Thishasledtoanumberoffascinatingdiscoveriesaboutthenatureofawe,whilealsoraisingmanyquestionsstilltobeexplored.Whatisawe?Aweisacomplexemotionthatcanbedifficulttodefine.Feelingsofawecanbepositiveornegative—unlikemostotheremotions—andcanarisefromawiderangeofstimuli.Inalandmark2003paper,psychologistsDacherKeltnerandJonathanHaidtpresenteda“conceptualapproachtoawe.”Inthispaper,KeltnerandHaidtsuggestedthataweexperiencescanbecharacterizedbytwophenomena:“perceivedvastness”anda“needforaccommodation.”“Perceivedvastness”cancomefromobservingsomethingliterallyphysicallylarge—theGrandCanyon,forexample—orfromamoretheoreticalperceptualsenseofvastness—suchasbeinginthepresenceofsomeonewithimmenseprestigeorbeingpresentedwithacomplexidealikethetheoryofrelativity.Anexperienceevokesa“needforaccommodation”whenitviolatesournormalunderstandingoftheworld.Whenastimulusexceedsourexpectationsinsomeway,itcanprovokeanattempttochangethementalstructuresthatweusetounderstandtheworld.
ExecutiveSummary 2
ThisneedforcognitiverealignmentisanessentialpartoftheaweexperienceasconceptualizedbyKeltnerandHaidt.SinceKeltnerandHaidt’s2003paper,studieshaveshownthataweisoftenaccompaniedbyfeelingsofself-diminishmentandincreasedconnectednesswithotherpeople.Experiencingaweoftenputspeopleinaself-transcendentstatewheretheyfocuslessonthemselvesandfeelmorelikeapartofalargerwhole.Inthisway,awecanbeconsideredanalteredstateofconsciousness,akintoaflowstate,inadditiontoanemotionalstate.Whymightawehaveevolved?Whilenooneknowsforsurewhyaweevolved,therearesomeinterestingtheories.HaidtandKeltner,forinstance,suggestthataweevolvedbecauseitpromptedreverenceanddevotiontopowerfulleadersandpromotedsocialcohesion.Alternatively,psychologistsAliceChiricoandDavidYadensuggestthatawemayhaveevolvedbecauseithelpedpeopleidentifysafeplacestoseekshelter,suchasenvironmentswithlargevistasthatwouldhaveallowedourhunter-gathererrelativestoseeapproachingpredatorsorattackers.Awe’sabilitytoelicitcognitiveaccommodationmayalsoexplainwhyhumansevolvedtoexperiencethisuniqueemotion.Experiencingawemaybeadaptivebecauseitencouragesustotakeinnewinformationandadjustourmentalstructuresaroundthisinformation,helpingusnavigateourworldandincreasingouroddsofsurvival.Finally,awe’sabilitytomakeusfeelmoreconnectedwithothersandtobemorehelpfulandgenerousmayhavealsohelpedensureourancestors’survivalandreproductivesuccess.Whattypesofexperienceselicitawe?Anumberofempiricalstudieshaveexploredthetypesofsituationsthatcanelicitawe.Forexample,studieshavefoundthatnaturalscenesarefrequentaweelicitors,thatstimulidonotneedtobephysicallylargetoelicitawe,andthatrecallingspiritualandreligiousexperiencescanevokefeelingsofawe.Therearelikelyculturalvariationsintheaweexperience.Forexample,onestudyfoundculturaldifferencesinthesituationsthatelicitawe:personalaccomplishmentsweremorefrequentaweelicitorsamongpeopleintheUnitedStates(amoreindividualisticculture)thanamongpeoplefromChina(amorecollectivistculture),whereasfeelinginaweofanotherpersonwasmorecommonlyreportedbypeoplefromChinathanbypeoplefromtheUnitedStates.Whoexperiencesmoreawe?Afewstudieshaveexploredvariousfactorsthatmaymakesomepeoplemorepronetoexperiencingawethanothers.Forexample,moreextravertedpeoplemayhaveagreatertendencytoexperienceawe,asmaypeoplewhoaremoreopentonewexperiences.Peoplewhoarelesscomfortablewithambiguity,ontheotherhand,appeartobelesslikelytoexperienceawe.
ExecutiveSummary 3
Otherstudiessuggestthatwiserpeoplemayalsoexperiencemoreawe,andone’stendencytoexperienceaweiscorrelatedwithanumberofotherpositivecharactertraits,suchasappreciationofbeauty,creativity,andgratitude.Therearelikelysocialfactorsthatinfluencewhetherapersonhasagreaterdispositionforawe.Forexample,onestudyfoundevidencethatpeoplefromlowersocialclassesreportexperiencingawemorefrequentlythanpeoplefromhigherclasses.AndanotherstudycomparingaweexperiencesamongpeoplefromtheUnitedStates,Malaysia,Iran,andPolandfoundthatpeoplefromtheUnitedStateshadthehighestdispositionalawe,whereaspeoplefromIranhadthelowest.EffectsofaweAweexperiencesmaybringwiththemahostofphysiological,psychological,andsocialeffects.Forexample,studieshavefoundthatfeelingsofawecanbeaccompaniedbyheartratechanges,“goosebumps,”andthesensationofchills,andthereissomeevidencethatawemayevendecreasemarkersofchronicinflammation.Whenitcomestopsychologicaleffects,studieshavefoundthatawecancreateadiminishedsenseofself(aneffectknownas“thesmallself”),givepeoplethesensethattheyhavemoreavailabletime,increasefeelingsofconnectedness,increasecriticalthinkingandskepticism,increasepositivemood,anddecreasematerialism.Multiplestudieshavefoundevidencethatexperiencingawemakespeoplemorekindandgenerous.Forexample,peoplewhowroteaboutatimewhentheyexperiencedawereportedagreaterwillingnesstovolunteertheirtimetohelpacharitythandidpeoplewhorecalledahappyexperience.Anotherstudyfoundthatpeoplewithmoredispositionalaweweremoregenerousinlaboratorytasks—suchasinhowtheydistributedraffleticketsbetweenthemselvesandanunknownparticipant—andthatpeoplewhostoodamongawe-inspiringeucalyptustreespickedupmorepensforanexperimenterwhohad“accidentally”droppedthemthandidpeoplewhostaredupatanot-so-inspiringlargebuilding.FuturedirectionsThescienceofaweisbarely15yearsold,andtherearemanymorequestionslefttobeexploredthanthosethathavebeenanswered.Particularlyinterestingareasforfuturestudyinclude:Howdochildrenexperienceawe?Howdoourdifferentsensescontributetotheaweexperience?Howdonaturalaweexperiencesvaryfromthoseinthelab?Andcanpeoplebetaughttoexperienceawemorefrequently?
TableofContents 4
TableofContents
I. Introduction Page5II. WhatisAwe? Page6III. WhyDidAweEvolve? Page14IV. GeneralElicitorsofAwe Page16V. FactorsThatInfluenceWhoExperiencesAwe Page21VI. EffectsofAwe Page24VII. LimitationsandFutureDirections Page41VIII. References Page45
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I. IntroductionHaveyoueverhadanexperiencethatleftyouovercomewithwonder?PerhapsyouweremarvelingatMountRushmore,movedtotearsbyaworkofart,orstaringwithamazementatanelectricalstorm.Inthesemoments—iftheconditionswereright—youmayhaveexperiencedawe,anemotionthathadevadedscientificinquiryuntiljustrecently.Awecanbescary,oritcanbeadelight.Sometimesit’sboth.Itcanevenchangeyourlife—leadingtoanepiphanyorspiritualtransformation.Buthowdowedefineanaweexperience?Whatexperiencesaremostlylikelytoelicitawe?Whatdoesawefeellikeinourbodies?Whydosomepeoplefeelmoreawethanothers?Andhowdoesawechangeoursenseofourselvesandourbehaviortowardothers?Thesearesomeofthequestionsthatpsychologistshavestartedtoexplorethroughthescienceofawe.Indeed,whilereligiousleadersandphilosophershavelongponderedthenatureofaweanditsabilitytochangehowwefeelaboutourselvesandourworld,psychologistsbeganstudyingtheemotioninearnestonly15yearsago.Infact,onlyasinglepeerreviewedpaperpublishedintheyear2002listed“awe”asamajorsubjectorkeyword,accordingtothePsycINFOdatabase;in2017,thatfigurehadjumpedto12.Thispaperpresentsanoverviewofresearchproducedoverthose15years,muchofwhichwassupportedbytheJohnTempletonFoundation.Inthiswhitepaper,thenumberofcitationsforaparticularstudyorreviewpaper(asofMarch2018)isindicatedinbrackets[]nexttothatcitation;highlycitedstudies(>50citations)areindicatedinbold.Itisimportanttonotethat,becausethisareaofstudyissonew,manyofthefindingspresentedinthispaperstemfromonlyafewstudies(oftenasinglestudy)andthusshouldbeconsideredpreliminaryuntiltheyarevalidatedbyfuturestudies.Thepaperisdividedintosevensections,includingthisintroductorysection.Thesecondsectionbrieflydefinesawe,itsfeatures,andwhatdistinguishesitfromotheremotions.Thethirddiscussestheoriesforwhyhumansmayhaveevolvedtofeelawe.Thefourthdelvesintowhatisknownaboutthegeneraltypesofsituationsthatelicitawe.Thefifthexploresthepersonality,social,andculturalfactorsthatmayinfluencewhoexperiencesawe.Thesixthdiscussesthephysical,psychological,andsocialeffectsofawe.Thefinalsectionoutlineslimitationstothisresearchanddiscussespromisingfuturedirectionsinthescienceofawe.
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II. WhatisAwe?
A.DefiningAwe
Amajesticwaterfall,theTajMahal,toweringredwoods,theGrandCanyon,atornado,Beethoven’sSymphonyNumber9,Monet’sWaterLilies,afractal,aspiritualexperience,aperformancebyPrince,achildbeingborn,aspeechbyMartinLutherKing,Jr.,theviewofEarthfromspace.Whatdoallthesethingshaveincommon?They’relikelytoinduceoneofthemostmysteriousandmystifyingofemotions:awe.It’slikelythatyou’veexperiencedaweatonetimeoranother.Buthowwouldyoudescribeit?Wasitpleasurable?Fearful?Wondrous?Aweisdifficulttodefine,whichmayhelpexplainwhypsychologists—untilrecently—havekepttheirdistancefromthisparticularemotion.Whilereligiousscholars,philosophers,andsociologistshaveconsideredawe’sroleinreligioustransformations,aesthetics,andpoliticalchange,psychologistshistoricallyhadonlyafleetinginterestintheemotion(Shiota,Keltner,&Mossman,2007)[265].Butin2003,psychologistsDacherKeltnerandJonathanHaidtpresenteda“conceptualapproachtoawe”intheirpaper“Approachingawe,amoralspiritual,andaestheticemotion”(Keltner&Haidt,2003)[755].Thispaperpresentsatheoreticalproposalforhowtodefine,conceptualize,andstudyawe,layingthefoundationforanewandrigorouslineofresearch.Butwhatexactlyisawe?Intheirpaper,KeltnerandHaidtnotethattheword“awe”isderivedfromwordsinOldEnglishandOldNorsethatexpressed“fearanddread,particularlytowardadivinebeing.”TheEnglishmeaningevolvedinto“dreadmingledwithveneration,reverentialorrespectfulfear;andtheattitudeofamindsubduedtoprofoundreverenceinthepresenceofsupremeauthority,moralgreatnessorsublimity,ormysterioussacredness.”Andthemeaninghasfurtherevolvedsincethen.AsksomeoneintheUnitedStatesabouttheirlatestaweexperienceandyou’relikelytohearaboutapositiveexperienceinnature.Howbesttocharacterizeastateoremotionthatcanbeelicitedbysuchvariousexperiences?KeltnerandHaidtproposethatallaweexperienceshavetwoessentialcentralfeaturesincommon:perceivedvastnessandaneedforaccommodation.PerceivedvastnessWhilemanystimulithatelicitawearephysicallyvast,KeltnerandHaidt’sideaof“vastness”goesbeyondliteralsizeandincludesstimulithatareperceptuallyorconceptuallyvast(suchasacomplexscientifictheory).“Vastnessreferstoanythingthatisexperiencedasbeingmuchlargerthantheself,ortheself’sordinarylevelofexperience,”theywrite.Sowhilewecanperceiveasenseofvastness
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inthefaceofanopenplainorgiantredwoodtree,itcanalsobeinducedby“socialsize”—likeprestige,authority,orfame—orbysomethingintricateorcomplex—likeafractaloranimpressiveworkofartormusic.Essentially,anystimulusthatexceedsaperson’snormalrangeofexperienceinoneattributeoranothercouldleadtotheperceptionofvastness,ascanstimulithatleadpeopletofeelasiftheyarepartofsomethinglargerthanthemselves.NeedforaccommodationAccommodation,accordingtoKeltnerandHaidt,referstopsychologistJeanPiaget’s“processofadjustingmentalstructuresthatcannotassimilateanewexperience.”Inotherwords,yourconceptionoftheworldneedstoshiftorexpandinordertomakesenseofthisnewexperience.Importantly,KeltnerandHaidtemphasizethataweinvolvesaneedforaccommodation,whichmayormaynotbemet.“Thesuccessofone’sattemptsataccommodationmaypartiallyexplainwhyawecanbebothterrifying(whenonefailstounderstand)andenlightening(whenonesucceeds),”theywrite.The“needforaccommodation”featureofaweexplainswhywefindtheseexperiencessomind-blowing:Aweexperiencesactuallypromptustoquestionandtrytoreviseourunderstandingoftheworld.Inordertoelicitawe,anexperiencemustinvolvebothperceivedvastnessandaneedforaccommodation,atleastasconceptualizedbyKeltnerandHaidt.Forexample,anexperiencethatinvolvesaneedforaccommodationbutnotvastnesswouldelicitsurprisebutnotawe.Imaginewalkingintoyourhouseandbeinggreetedwithasurpriseparty.Youmightexperiencecognitiveaccommodation—inthiscase,thatmightinvolverealizingthatyourspousedidn’treallyhaveaworkfunctionthatnightandfinallydeducingwhytherehadbeenbagsoficeinthefreezerthanmorning.Yetyoulikelywouldn’thavetheperceptionofvastness(unlessyourpartywasatNiagaraFallsorBeyoncéwasinvited).Soyou’dbesurprised,butnotawed.“Flavors”ofaweIntheir2003paper,KeltnerandHaidtproposetheprototypicalaweexperienceasinvolving“achallengetoornegationofmentalstructureswhentheyfailtomakesenseofanexperienceofsomethingvast”—aprimeexamplebeingthefeelingonehasinthepresenceofapowerfulleader.However,theyalsoproposefiveperipheralorfeaturesthatcan“flavor”aweexperiences,producingadiverserangeofawe-relatedstates.Theirproposedflavorsofaweare:threat,beauty,ability,virtue,andsupernaturalcausality(Keltner&Haidt,2003)[755].KeltnerandHaidtproposethefollowingexplanationsoftheseaweflavors:Threat-basedaweislikelyaccompaniedbyfear;stimulithatmayelicitthreat-basedaweincludeacharismaticleaderlikeHitleroranextremeweathereventlikeanelectricalstorm.
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Beauty-basedaweisflavoredwith“aestheticpleasure”andmaybeelicitedbyaperson,anaturalscene(e.g.,theGrandCanyon),oraworkofart(e.g.,Monet’sWaterLilies).Ability-basedaweisthoughttoco-occurwithadmirationofaperson’s“exceptionalability,talent,andskill.”Examplesincludeseeinganespeciallytalentedmusicianorstellarathlete.Virtue-basedawe—theaweonefeelswheninthepresenceofsomeonedisplayingvirtueandstrengthofcharacter—wouldlikelybeaccompaniedbyfeelingsofelevation.Anexampleofvirtue-basedawemightbereadingaboutthelivesofsaints.Supernaturalcausality-basedawe—asonemightexperienceiftheysawanangel,aghost,orafloatingobject—willbetintedwithan“elementoftheuncanny,”whichcanbeterrifyingorgloriousdependingonthesource.Itisimportanttonotethatthese“flavorings”aretheoreticalvariationsofaweexperiencesratherthanexperimentallyvalidatedcategories.WriteresearchersAliceChiricoandDavidB.Yadeninarecentchapteraboutawe,“ItisunclearhowconsistentthispartofKeltnerandHaidt’stheoryiswithmainstreamemotiontheory,thoughthesethemesprovideinterestingavenuesforfurtherempiricalresearch”(Chirico&Yaden,2018)[1].Aweasaself-transcendentexperienceSinceKeltnerandHaidt’s2003article,multiplestudieshaveshownthataweexperiencesareoftenaccompaniedbyadiminishedsenseofself(oftentermed“thesmallself”),feelingsofconnectednesswithothers,andasenseofbeinginthepresenceofsomethinggreaterthanoneself.ThesefindingshaveledDavidYadenandotherstosuggestthatawecanbeclassifiednotjustasanemotionbutalsoasatypeofalteredstateofconsciousnesscalleda“self-transcendentexperience(STE)”—(Yaden,Haidt,Hood,Vago,&Newberg,2017)[8].OtherSTEsincludestateslike“mindfulness”and“flow.”Theself-transcendentqualitiesoftheaweexperiencewillbecoveredingreaterdepthinthe“EffectsofAwe”sectionofthispaper.
B.HowAweRelatestoOtherEmotions
Intheeyesofemotionresearchers,awemaintainsacomplicated,sometimesfuzzy,relationshiptootherpositiveemotions—itcansometimesbechallengingtodifferentiateitfromotheremotionalstates,achallengenotuncommonamongpositiveemotions[26](Keltner&Cordaro,2017)[17](Cordaro,Fridlund,Keltner,&Russell,2015)[0].Onerecentpaper,whichproposesataxonomyofpositiveemotions,theorizesthatemotionscanbedifferentiatedinpartbasedonthe“adaptiveproblemtheyaddress”andarguesthataweisadiscreteemotionthataddressestheneedtotakeinnovel,complexinformation(Shiotaetal.,2017)[9].Thisconceptionofawemeansthatwemayexperienceawebecauseitinducesustoprocess(ortrytoprocess)newinformationaboutourenvironment.
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Importantly,theresearchersalsonotethatemotionscanalsobedifferentiatedfromoneanotherbyattributessuchastheneuralmechanisms,nonverbalexpressions,peripheralphysiology,cognitiveaspects,motivations/behaviors,andsubjectiveexperiencesassociatedwitheachofthem.Mostoftheseattributesarelargelyunknownwhenitcomestoawe.Awemayverywellbeitsownbasicemotion,then,butotheremotionalstatesmightoverlapwithit.Wonder,inparticular,isoftenthoughttoberelatedtoawe.Forexample,ina2011paper,PaulEkmanandDanielCordarowrotethatwonderis“theresponsetosomethingincomprehensible,incrediblebutnotfrightening,ararelyfeltemotion”(Ekman&Cordaro,2011)[434],andthat“[w]henitcombineswithfear,thenthecorrecttermis‘awe’.”However,mostofthestudiesdiscussedinthiswhitepaperwouldcollapsealloftheseresponsesintotheconceptof“awe.”Otherstudieshaveusedpeople’sdescriptionsofexperiencestotrytoelucidatedifferencesbetweenaweandwonder.Onesuchstudyfoundthatawe“wasrelatedtoobservingtheworld,reflectedingreateruseofperceptionwords”(suchas“heard”or“saw”)whereaswonder“wasrelatedtotryingtounderstandtheworld,reflectedingreateruseofcognitivecomplexityandtentativewords”(suchas“think,”“because,”or“perhaps”)(Darbor,Lench,Davis,&Hicks,2016)[7].Thisissomewhatsimilartoananalysisofastronauts’accountsoftheirexperiencesinspace,whichdeterminedthataweis“adirectandinitialexperienceorfeelingwhenfacedwithsomethingincomprehensibleorsublime”whereaswonderis“areflectiveexperiencemotivatedwhenoneinunabletoputthingsintoafamiliarconceptualframework—leadingtoopenquestionsratherthanconclusions”(Gallagher,Reinerman-Jones,Sollins,&Janz,2014)[11].Thustheremaybewaystodifferentiatewonderandawe,butthetwostatesarelikelytooverlap,atleastintermsofhowmostpeoplethinkabouttheseemotions.Anotheremotionsometimesconflatedwithaweis“elevation,”thewarm,upliftingfeelingonehaswhenwitnessingamoralact.AccordingtoKeltnerandHaidt,elevationisintheawefamily—alongwithinspirationandadmiration—butcanbedistinguishedfromawebecauseitdoesnotincludeaperceptionofvastness(Keltner&Haidt,2003)[755].Whilebothaweandelevationinvolveanelementofself-transcendence,spurringustoturnourattentionoutsideourselves,aweleadspeopletofeelsmallandconnectedtoothers,whileelevationleavespeoplefeelingupliftedandinspiredtobesimilarlyaltruistic(althoughaswewillseelater,awecanalsoinspiregenerousacts)(Shiota,Thrash,Danvers,&Dombrowski,2014)[10].Researcherswilllikelycontinuetoexploreandclarifythedifferencesbetweenawe,elevation,andrelatedemotions.
C.ExpressionsofAweAsmentionedabove,researchsuggeststhatemotionsareoftencharacterizedbyparticularverbalandnonverbalexpressionsthatmayhelpdifferentiatethoseemotionsfromother,similaremotions.Someresearchhasattemptedtozeroinontheseexpressionswhenitcomestoawe,thoughquestionsremainastotheuniversalityoftheseexpressions.
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Inonestudy,multiplepeopleattemptedtoconveyseveraldifferentemotions,includingawe,withtheirvoice,usingshortvocalizationsthattheresearcherscalled“vocalbursts”(Simon-Thomas,Keltner,Sauter,Sinicropi-Yao,&Abramson,2009)[114].Whenotherparticipantslistenedtothevocalburstsandwereaskedtodeterminewhichemotionthepersonwastryingtoconvey,theywereabletosuccessfullyidentifyasignificantnumberoftheawevocalizations,suggestingthatthereisastereotypicalverbalexpressionthatpeopleassociatewithawe(althoughtherewasmorevariabilityintheidentificationsoftheaweexpressionsthaninmanyoftheotheremotions).Anotherstudyofpeoplefrom10globalizedculturesandaremotevillageinBhutanfoundmoderateevidencethatavocalburst,similarto“wow,”couldbeuniversallyrecognizedasbeingrelatedtoanexperienceofawe(Cordaro,Keltner,Tshering,Wangchuk,&Flynn,2016)[29].Whetherornotthereareclearnonverbalexpressionsofaweisstillamatterofsomedebate.Inonestudy,undergraduateparticipantsrecalledtimeswhentheyhadexperienceddifferentemotionsandshowedhowtheywouldexpressthoseemotionsnonverbally(Shiota,Campos,&Keltner,2003)[113].Whenitcametoawe,themajorityofparticipantsdisplayedsomecombinationofanopen,slightlydrop-jawedmouth,widenedeyes,andraisedinnereyebrows,andmorethanaquarterslightlyjuttedtheirheadoutorinhaled.Theresearchersspeculatethattheforwardheadjuttingandwidenedeyesmayhelppeopletakeinandprocessnewinformation—partoftheprocessofcognitiveaccommodation—whereasinhalationandadroppedjawmayreducephysiologicalarousal,whichcaninterferewithcomplexcognitiveprocessing.Alaterstudyfoundverysimilarresults(Campos,Shiota,Keltner,Gonzaga,&Goetz,2013)[92],andanotherstudyfoundthatthemajorityofbothAmericanandIndiancollegestudentswereabletocorrectlyidentifythreedifferentdisplaysofanemotionakintowonder(Hejmadi,Davidson,&Rozin,2000)[84],againsuggestingthatnonverbalexpressionsofawemaybeatleastsomewhatuniversal(ifpotentiallyconflatedwithwonder).However,whilepartiallyuniversal,aperson’snonverbalexpressionofaweislikelymodifiedbyculture.ArecentstudythataskedparticipantsfromChina,India,Japan,Korea,andtheUnitedStatestoproducenonverbalexpressionsfor22emotionsfoundthattherewasindeedacorenonverbalexpressionofawethatwashighlyconservedacrossallfivecultures,butexpressionsalsocontainedcultural“accents”(Cordaroetal.,2018)[1].Forexample,Indianparticipantsmadeopen-mouthedlippuckersinresponsetoawe.Thisstudyfoundthataboutaquarterofan“individual’sexpressionofaspecificemotionresembledtheemotion-specificculturaldialectofthatindividual’slocale.”Besidesvaryingbyculture,itispossiblethatnonverbalexpressionsmayvaryinresponsetothesubtypeofaweexperienced(e.g.,anexpressionofaweinresponsetothreateningstimulimaylookdifferentfromanexpressionofaweinresponsetoaparticularlybeautifulsite)(Keltner&Cordaro,2017)[17].Thusfurtherresearchwillberequiredtodetermineif
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thereareconsistentand/oruniversalnonverbalexpressionsspecifictodifferentexperiencesofawe.
D.MethodsforStudyingAweResearchershavedevelopedanumberofmethodsforstudyingawe.Thesemethodsincludeaskingparticipantstorecallatimewhentheyexperiencedaweandtalkorwriteabouttheexperienceindetail(Shiotaetal.,2007)[265](Piff,Dietze,Feinberg,Stancato,&Keltner,2015)[133](Schurtzetal.,2012)[34];showingparticipantsslideshowsorvideosofstimulithatarelikelytoinduceawe,suchasgrandvistasorchildbirth(Saroglou,Buxant,&Tilquin,2008)[152](Silvia,Fayn,Nusbaum,&Beaty,2015)[70](Shiota,Neufeld,Yeung,Moser,&Perea,2011)[97](Piffetal.,2015)[133](Prade&Saroglou,2016)[16](VanCappellen&Saroglou,2012)[88];takingparticipantstoanawe-inspiringenvironment,suchasagroveoftoweringtrees(Piffetal.,2015)[133];havingparticipantsreadshortstoriesaboutknownelicitorsofawe(Piffetal.,2015)[133];andaskingparticipantstokeepadailydiaryabouttheiraweexperiences(Baietal.,2017)[2].Whenmeasuringtheextenttowhichapersonisdisposedtoexperienceaweintheirday-to-daylives—whatresearchersrefertoas“dispositionalawe”—researchersoftenusetheawesubscaleoftheDispositionalPositiveEmotionScales,acommonlyusedpsychologicaltool(Shiota,Keltner,&John,2006)[379].Theawesubscaleisaself-reportedsurveythatasksparticipantstoindicatetheirlevelofagreementwitheachofthefollowingitemsona1to7scale:
• Ioftenfeelawe.• Iseebeautyallaroundme.• Ifeelwonderalmosteveryday.• Ioftenlookforpatternsintheobjectsaroundme.• Ihavemanyopportunitiestoseethebeautyofnature.• Iseekoutexperiencesthatchallengemyunderstandingoftheworld.
Tomeasurespecificelementsofawe,includingperceivedvastnessandneedforaccommodation,researchersgenerallyaskparticipantsquestionsdesignedtoteaseaparttheaweexperience.Forexample,tomeasureperceivedvastness,aresearchermightasktowhatextentparticipantsagreethattheiraweexperiencewasaccompaniedby“qualitiesthatwerebeyondmeasure”(Schurtzetal.,2012)[34];togaugesomeone’sneedforaccommodation,theymayasktowhatextentthey“feltconfusedandbewildered”(Chiricoetal.,2017)[5]bytheexperience.Forthelatterelement,somestudieshavealsousedtheNeedforCognitiveClosurescale.Thisscaleincludesstatementswithwhichparticipantsmustratetheirlevelofagreement,suchas“Ithinkthathavingclearrulesandorderatworkisessentialforsuccess”and“Whenconsideringmostconflictsituations,Icanusuallyseehowbothsidescouldberight”(Shiotaetal.,2007)[265].
WhatisAwe? 12
Therehasalsobeenconsiderableinterestindevelopingmethodsformeasuringtheperceptionofadiminishedselfthatoftenaccommodatesanaweexperience.Thesemethodsincludesurveyitemssuchas“Ifeltsmallorinsignificant”(Shiotaetal.,2007)[265],aswellasmorevisualmeans.Forexample,researchershavemeasuredthesizeofself-portraitsdrawnbyparticipantsortheyhavepresentedparticipantswithaseriesofdifferentsizedcircles,drawingsofdifferentsizedpeople(seeFigure1),and/orasetofdifferentsized“Me”signaturesandaskedthemwhichversionreflectshowbigorsmalltheparticipantsfeel(Baietal.,2017)[2].
Figure1.Amethodformeasuringthesmallself.Instructiontoparticipants:Pleaseindicatewhichoneofthefollowingdrawingsbestdescribesyourself.(Baietal.,2017)[2].Thedisciplineof“neurophenomenology”alsoprovidesanewapproachforstudyingawe(Gallagher,Reinerman-Jones,Janz,Bockelman,&Trempler,2015)[18].Neurophenomenologicalmethodscombinetraditionalobjectivemethodsfromneuroscience(suchasEEG)withmoresubjectivefirsthandaccountsofexperiences.Suchmethodshavebeenusedinexperimentsattemptingtosimulatetheexperienceofspacetravel:First,researchersgleanedinformationfromthetestimonialsofastronauts;thenthesetestimonialswereusedtocreatearealisticspacevehiclesimulation;researchersthenusedthesimulationtocollectbrainactivityandotherphysiologicaldatafromparticipantsinreal-timeinordertoprobequestionsabouthowaweexperiencesrelatetoperceptualandphysiologicalphenomena,suchasdopeople’sheartsbeatdifferentlywhentheyareandarenotexperiencingawe?(Theydo.)(Bockelman,Reinerman-Jones,&Gallagher,2013)[27](Gallagheretal.,2014)[11].
WhatisAwe? 13
VirtualReality(VR)alsopresentsapromisingmethodforinducingandstudyingawebecauseitcanpresentcomplexandvaststimulithat“overcomeoursenseofphysicsandchallengeourassumptionsabouttheworld”(Chirico,Yaden,Riva,&Gaggioli,2016)[14].Inaddition,VRprovidesthepotentialtosimultaneouslymeasurepsychophysicalmeasurementsinreal-time,suchasskinconductance,respiration,heartrate,facialmovements,andposture.Onestudyfoundthatimmersivevideos,ahighlyrealisticformofVR,thatdisplayed“vastandpanoramicscenesofnaturalbeautyfroma360degreeperspective”resultedinmoreintenseaweexperiencesthanwatchingnormal2Dvideos(Chiricoetal.,2017)[5].AndaveryrecentstudyusedVRtoexplorehowfourdifferentimmersivevirtualenvironmentsinfluencedperceptionsofvastness,needforaccommodation,andawe(Chirico,Ferrise,Cordella,&Gaggioli,2018)[0].Takentogether,thesestudieshighlightVR’spotentialforstudyingaweinnewandcomprehensiveways.
WhyDidAweEvolve?
14
III. WhyDidAweEvolve?Inhis1872treatiseTheExpressionoftheEmotionsinManandAnimals,CharlesDarwinpositedthatemotionsandemotionalexpressionshaveevolutionaryorigins;inshort,naturalselectionselectedforemotionsbecausetheyofferedsomesortoffitnessadvantageandeitherhelpedourancestorssurviveand/orreproduce(Darwin,1872)[17984].Sowhymightanemotionlikeawehaveevolved?KeltnerandHaidtproposethatprimordialawe—theaweonefeelswheninthepresenceofapowerfulindividual—mayplayaroleinmaintainingsocialhierarchies(Keltner&Haidt,2003)[755].“Thisfeelingislikelytoinvolvereverence,devotion,andtheinclinationtosubordinateone’sowninterestsandgoalsindeferencetothoseofthepowerfulleader,”theywrite.Inotherwords,awepromotessocialcohesionbysupportingcurrentgroupdynamics.However,aswe’llseelaterinthispaper,whenaskedtorecountanaweexperiencemodernpeople—particularlythoseintheUnitedStates—aremuchmorelikelytothinkofamajesticmountainvistathananencounterwithapowerfulleader.AccordingtoKeltnerandHaidt,theseareexamplesof“elaboratedawe,”definedas“culture-specificnorms,meanings,andpracticesthatculturesbuilduparoundprimordialemotions.”Thusawemayhavestartedoffasamechanismforensuringthestabilityofsocialhierarchies,buthumanculturesco-optedandexpandedonittoencompassmanyothertypesofexperiences.YetasresearchersAliceChiricoandDavidYadenargueinarecentbookchapter,perhapsthefactthatnaturalscenesaresuchcommonaweelicitorspointstoanotherreasonthatawemayhaveevolved,whattheytermthe“nature-first”view(Chirico&Yaden,2018)[1].Thistheorysuggeststhatawefirstevolvednottomaintainsocialhierarchiesbutinsteadasasignalthathunter-gatherershadfoundasafeenvironmentforshelter.Theideaisthatthesafestkindofshelterisonewhereonesideisprotectedandpeoplecaneasilyviewapproachingpredatorsorenemies.“Theseconditionsaremostoftenfulfilledbyelevatedlocationswithasweepingviewofthesurroundingarea—andthissweepingviewofnaturalsceneryhappenstobethestereotypicalandmostprevalentelicitorofaweincontemporarysettings(e.g.theGrandCanyon),”writeChiricoandYaden.Theynotethatfurtherevidencesupportingthis“nature-first”theoryoverthe“social-first”proposal(putforthbyKeltnerandHaidt)includes:1)astudythatfoundthatchildrenhaveapreferenceforelevatedpositionswithsweepingscenery(Fischer&Shrout,2006)[35],2)theideathatprosocialbehavior(acommoneffectofawe,asdiscussedlaterinthe“EffectsofAwe”section)maybeadaptiveinsafeenvironmentsbutcouldputpeopleindangerinlesssafeenvironments,3)theobservationthat“social”aweisusuallytriggeredbyunknownpeople,buthunter-gathererslivedinsmalltribeswheretheypresumablyknewtheirfellowtribespeoplewell.ChiricoandYadendoofferthecaveatthatthistheorydoesnotaccountforawe’seffectsoncognitiveaccommodation.
WhyDidAweEvolve?
15
Thereisyetanotherevolutionarytheoryconcerningawe’sfitness-enhancingfunction,thisonefocusingonawe’sabilitytoinducecognitiveaccommodationininformation-richenvironments—thewaythatitinducespeopletoupdatetheirmentalschemasandtousetheiranalyticalabilitiesratherthantorelyonmentalshortcutswhentheyareconfrontedbystimulithatviolatetheircurrentunderstandingoftheworld.Bythistheory,awe’sabilitytoinitiatethistypeofcognitiveagilityandprioritizeassessmentofincominginformationcouldbeadaptiveinallsortsofscenarios—forinstance,itcouldhelppeopleadapttonewenvironmentsandexperiencesbyallowingthemtoprocessnovel,complexinformationmorecritically.Corroboratingthistheory,onestudyfoundthatinspiringawemadepeoplemoreskepticalofweakarguments(Griskevicius,Shiota,&Neufeld,2010)[170].Suchskepticismcouldhypotheticallyhavehelpedourancestorsnavigatecomplexsocialinteractions.Ultimately,awe’sself-transcendentfunctions—includingitsabilitytoreduceself-focusandincreasefeelingsofconnectednesswithothers—arelikelyfundamentaltoitsevolution.“Evolutionaryclaimsaboutthefunctionsofawearepredicatedontheassumptionthatindividualsattaingoals(e.g.,huntinglargemammals)andfendoffthreats(e.g.,warfare)moresuccessfullyingroupsthanalone,”writeJenniferStellar,Keltner,andcolleaguesinarecentreview(Stellar,Gordon,Piff,etal.,2017)[8].“Individualsreapthemostbenefitsfromgroupmembershipwhenthosesocialgroupsarecohesiveandstable,whichrequiresreducingtheself-interestedmotivationsofeachindividualgroupmember.”Thus,awemayhavehelpedourancestorstobelessselfishandtendtotheneedsoftheirgroup,aidinginthesurvivalofthegroup(andalsothemselves).
GeneralElicitorsofAwe 16
IV. GeneralElicitorsofAweWhatsituationsaremostlikelytoevokeawe?Inthepast15years,afewstudieshaveattemptedtoidentifythegeneralfeaturesofstimuli—events,people,objects,experiences—thataremorelikelytoelicitfeelingsofaweinpeople.
A.EmpiricalEvidenceofAweElicitorsSeveralstudieshaveempiricallyexploredthevariousexperiencesthatelicitaweandhaveidentifiedthatcertaintypesofstimuliandeventsappeartobemorecommonaweelicitorsthanothers.Forexample,a2007studyexaminedfactorsthatelicitedawe(versushappiness)inundergraduatestudents’personalnarratives(Shiotaetal.,2007)[265].Thisstudyfoundthatstudentsaskedtowriteaboutawe-elicitingeventsweremorelikelytoreportbeinginnatureoranexperiencewithartormusicthanstudentswhowroteaboutasituationthatmadethemfeelhappy;bycontrast,whenwritingabouthappiness,participantsweremorelikelytoreportsocialevents.Thetwogroupswereequallylikelytodescribetheirownaccomplishments.Theseresultssuggestthatinformation-richstimuli—suchasnature,music,andart—arefrequentelicitorsofawe.ThisalignswithKeltnerandHaidt’stheorizedessentialconceptualizationofthecentralfeaturesofawe:Complexstimulicanbeunderstoodasbeing“perceptuallyvast,”andtakinginrichinformationoftenelicitsaneedforcognitiveaccommodation.Theresultsalsoshowcasethe“relativelyasocialnatureofawe”relativetohappiness.And,interestingly,alloftheaweelicitorsinthisstudywerepositive,suggestingthatpeople—oratleastthissubsetofU.S.collegestudents—thinkofaweasafundamentallypositiveemotion.Butasisdiscussedabove,positivestimuliaren’ttheonlyonesthatelicitawe.Therestofthissectionwillgointomoredepthontheroleofnatureasanaweelicitor,coversomeoftheothercommonstimuli—threateningeventsandspiritualexperiences—thatcausepeopletoexperienceawe,anddiscusswhatmightbeconsideredtheultimateaweelicitor:theviewofEarthfromspace.NaturePerhapsduetoitsinherentvastness,natureisaparticularlyprominentelicitorofawe.Inastudywhereundergraduateparticipantswereaskedtorecallatimewhentheyhadencountereda“reallybeautiful”naturalsceneandthenratetheextenttowhichdifferentemotionsdescribedtheirexperienceona1to7scale,theaverageratingfor“awe”was6.07(Shiotaetal.,2007)[265].Inanotherstudy,inwhichundergraduatestudentsrecalledatimewhentheyhadexperienceda“profoundsenseofbeauty,”themajority(55percent)ofthebeautyexperiencesinvolvednature,andstudentsreportedfeelingahighlevelofawe
GeneralElicitorsofAwe 17
(anaverageof4.5ona1to5scale)duringthebeautyexperiences(Cohen,Gruber,&Keltner,2010)[38].ArecentVRstudyfoundthatinteractingwithasceneshowinghighsnowymountainselicitedmoreawethanaforestsceneorviewingEarthfromspace,althoughallthreeproducedsignificantlymoreawethananeutralgreenclearingscene(Chiricoetal.,2018)[0].ThemountainsandEarthviewscreatedgreaterperceptionsofvastnessthantheforest,whiletherewasnodifferenceinanyoftheconditionsforperceivedneedforaccommodation.AndonestudyfoundthatgazingupatatoweringgroveofTasmanianeucalyptustreescanelicitawe,whereasgazingupatatallbuildingdoesnot.Thissuggeststhatvastness—asconceptualizedbyphysicalsize—isnotsufficienttoelicitawe(Piffetal.,2015)[133].Interestingly,thisstudyalsofoundthataslowmotionvideothathighlighted“minuteandintricatepatternsinliquid...thatareinvisibletothenakedeye”indropsofcoloredwaterfallingintoabowlofmilkelicitedaweandasenseofvastness(asassessedwithquestionslike“Ifeelthepresenceofsomethinggreaterthanmyself”and“IfeellikeIaminthepresenceofsomethinggrand”),suggestingthatphysicalvastnessisnotanecessarycomponentofaweeither;itistheperceptionofvastnessthatmatters.Threat-basedaweSomeresearchhasfoundevidenceofKeltnerandHaidt’sproposedthreat-basedflavorofawe.Onestudyfoundthatpeoplewhowatchedvideomontagesofthreateningnaturalphenomena,likevolcanoesandtornadoes,experiencedmoreawethanpeoplewhowatchedaneutralvideoabouttheconstructionofacountertop(Piffetal.,2015)[133].Alaterstudyfoundthatwhenparticipantswereaskedtodescribe“anexperienceinwhichtheyfeltintenseawe,”roughly21percentoftheexperiencesinvolvedthreat-basedawe(Gordonetal.,2017)[41].TheseincludedmemoriesoftheSeptember11thattacksandtheChallengerSpaceShuttleexplosion,aswellaspersonalexperiencessuchas“crawlingouttotheedgeofaledgeatthepeakofamountainwithalargelake2,000feetbelow.”Overall,thecategoriesofstimuli(e.g.nature,religion,socialevents)thatelicitedthreat-basedaweweresimilartothosethatelicitedpositiveawe.SpiritualandreligiousexperiencesSpiritualandreligiousexperiencescanalsoelicitawe,althoughsurprisinglyfewpsychologicalstudieshaveexploredthelinkbetweenspiritualityorreligionandawe.Ina2011paper,EdwardBonnerandHarrisFriedmananalyzedthemajorthemesevokedbytheinterviewswithinKirkSchneider’s2009book,AwakeningtoAwe:PersonalStoriesofProfoundTransformation(Bonner&Friedman,2011)[70].Amongthe10themesthatBonnerandFriedmanextractedfromthepersonalstoriesinthebookwastheconceptofthe“numinous.”Theydefinethenuminousas“anonrationalaspectofreligiousexperiencethatarisesuponsensingthepresenceofsomethingseenasholy,suchasadivinity.”MultiplepeopleinSchneider’sbookrecountedthistypeofaweexperience.Hereisoneexample:‘‘Onedaysomethingstirredmeenough[whileinchurch]
GeneralElicitorsofAwe 18
...whereIcouldn’tgobackwithoutbecominganaltarboy,withoutbecomingpartoftheceremony.”Inthispaper,BonnerandFriedmanalsodiscussthevariousrelationshipsbetweenreligion,spirituality,andawe.Theyexplain:“Formany,religionistheirsolesourceofspirituality;forothers,spiritualexperiencesarisefrombothreligiousandsecularactivities,andtherearethosewhohavenoreligiousaffiliationyetexperiencespiritualitythroughavarietyofmeans.Forallwhoacknowledgeaspirituallife,thenuminousisthataspectofspiritualexperiencewhereintheindividualsensesandreveresatranscendentpresenceofsomesort.Thispresencemaybeconceivedofasadeity,aspirit,auniversalconsciousness,orsomeotherconstruct,dependingonthebeliefsystemoftheindividual.”Theynotethatthesevariednotionsofthenuminouswereoftenconnectedwithaweintheirstudy.Onlyafewexperimentalstudieshaveexploredtherelationshipbetweenspirituality/religionandawe.Inonesuchstudy,undergraduatestudentswereaskedtodescribeamemorythatinvolvedaspiritualtransformation.Theyweretoldthatthistransformation“maybeofthereligiousvariety,itmayhavetodowithwhatyouconsidertobesacred,itmaybeinresponsetosomethinginnature,itmayresultfromrelationshipwithotherpeople,orart,ormanyotherthings."Thesestudentsreportedexperiencingahighlevelofaweassociatedwiththeirspiritualtransformations(anaverageof3.9ona1-5scale)(Cohenetal.,2010)[38].Morethanathirdofthestudentsrecountedspiritualexperiencesthatinvolvedareligiousevent,suggestingthatreligiousexperiencesinparticularmaybefrequentaweelicitors.Transformativespiritualexperiencesalsoappearedtoproducelastingchangesinthestudents:Morethanhalfreportedhavingachangedunderstandingofthemselves,almost30percentdescribedachangedunderstandingoftheworld,morethanaquarteroftheexperienceshadafeatureof“religiousstrengthening,”andmorethanoneinfivereportedthattheexperiencechangedtheirsenseofconnectionwithGod.Anothersetofstudiesfoundthatrecallingspiritualexperienceselicitedaweinbothreligiousandnon-religiouspeople(Preston&Shin,2017)[3].Perhapsunsurprisingly,thisstudyalsofoundthatreligiousandnon-religiouspeoplerecalleddifferenttypesofspiritualexperiences.Religiouspeopleweremorelikelytoreporttraditionalreligiousexperiences—aswellaslifeordeathexperiences.Indeed,theauthorshighlightintheirdiscussionhowelementsofreligiousritualsfrequentlyevokeasenseofsmallness(toweringcathedrals,kneelinginprayer,etc).Ontheotherhand,non-religiouspeopleweremorelikelytoreportdifferenttypesofspiritualexperiences(e.g.yoga,nature,science).Thismaysuggestthatpeople—particularlynon-religiouspeople—havearatherdiffuseunderstandingofspirituality.Infact,theauthorswritethat“theexperienceofaweandsmallselfmaybeoneoftheessentialpointsofoverlapthatcouldhelpustounderstandthemeaningofspiritualitywithoutreligion.”The“overvieweffect”:Theultimateaweexperience?
GeneralElicitorsofAwe 19
Figure2.“Earthrise”phototakenbyNASAastronautWilliamAndersfromtheApollo8spacecraftin1968.ImageCredit:NASATheultimateaweelicitormaybeonethatfewofuswillbeabletoexperience:theviewofEarthfromspace(Figure2).Thisexperienceisknownasthe“overvieweffect”;accountsfrommultipleastronautshave“attributeddeepfeelingsofaweandevenself-transcendencetothisexperience,”accordingtoastudybyDavidYadenandcolleagues(Yadenetal.,2016)[19].Thatpaperquotesseveralastronautsdiscussingtheirexperience:
It’shardtoexplainhowamazingandmagicalthisexperienceis.Firstofall,there’stheastoundingbeautyanddiversityoftheplanetitself,scrollingacrossyourviewatwhatappearstobeasmooth,statelypace....I’mhappytoreportthatnoamountofpriorstudyortrainingcanfullyprepareanybodyfortheaweandwonderthisinspires.(NASAAstronautKathrynD.)You’veseenpicturesandyou’veheardpeopletalkaboutit.Butnothingcanprepareyouforwhatitactuallylookslike.TheEarthisdramaticallybeautifulwhenyouseeitfromorbit,morebeautifulthananypictureyou’veeverseen.It’sanemotionalexperiencebecauseyou’reremovedfromtheEarthbutatthesametimeyoufeelthisincredibleconnectiontotheEarthlikenothingI’deverfeltbefore.(NASAAstronautSamDurrance)
Onereasonwhythisviewissuchapotentelicitorofaweisitsvastness.“ThewholenessoftheEarthmakesitasymbolofalmostallthatismeaningfulinhumanlife;ithastremendous,perhapsabsolute,conceptualvastness,”writesYadenandcolleaguesintheirstudyaboutastronauts’accountsoftheovervieweffect.“Seeingitfromadistance,whenoneisdisconnectedphysicallyyetconnectedemotionally,conjuresthoughtsofhome,oftheentiretyofone’sworld,andofmankindasawhole.”Additionally,becausethisviewis
GeneralElicitorsofAwe 20
sucharadicallydifferentperspectivefromhowwenormallyseeEarth,itmakessensethatseeingEarthfromspacewouldinspireaprofoundneedforaccommodation.A2014multidisciplinarystudysoughttorecreatetheovervieweffect,alongwiththesensationofbeingindeepspace,inparticipantsonEarth(Gallagheretal.,2014)[11].Thisstudyusedtextualanalysisoftheaccountsof51differentastronautstocreateasimulatedspacetravelexperience.TheresearcherscreatedaVirtualSpaceLab(VSL)thattriedtoreplicatetheexperienceofspacetravel,completewithlaunchingandlandingsequences,auditoryeffectsandvibrations,andaportalthatopenedwitheitheraviewofdeepspace(starsandgassyformations)oraviewoftheBlueMarble(Earthfromspace).Collegestudentparticipantstestedthesimulationwhileconnectedtovariousphysiologicalsensorsandthenansweredaseriesofquestionnairesabouttheirexperience.Resultsshowedthatmanyoftheeffectsreportedbytheastronauts,includingfeelingsofaweandwonder,couldbereplicatedbythesimulator—althoughsomephenomena,suchaselationandafeelingof“unitywiththeuniverse,”werenot.Overall,thisstudysuggeststhatsimulatedspaceflightmightbeauniquemethodofelicitingaparticularaweexperiencethatoncecouldonlybeexperiencedbyastronauts.
B.Cross-CulturalComparisonsofAweElicitorsAccordingtoonestudy,theremaybeculturaldifferencesintheelicitorsofawe.ThisstudyaskedChineseandU.S.undergraduatestudentstokeepadiaryoftheiraweexperiencesfortwoweeks(Baietal.,2017)[2].Themostcommonaweelicitorsinbothcultureswereexperiencesinvolvinganotherpersonornature.However,therewerealsosomesignificantdifferencesbetweenthetwocultures.Whilepersonalaccomplishments(suchasperformingmuchbetteronanexamthanexpected)wererelativelycommonelicitorsofaweforU.S.participants(makingupeightpercentofexperiences),theywerevirtuallynonexistentfortheChineseparticipants(0.41percent).Additionally,63percentoftheaweelicitorsmentionedinChineseparticipants’diariesinvolvedfeelinginaweofanotherperson,whereasthiswasonlythecase49percentofthetimeintheU.S.participants’diaries.Thisfindingpointstohowlivinginamoreindividualisticculture(liketheU.S.)orcollectivisticculture(likeChina)mayinfluencetheparticularstimulithatelicitaweforpeopleineachculture.Nonetheless,theresearchersnotethatthefrequencywithwhichotherpeopleelicitedaweinbothculturessuggeststhat“differentsourcesofinterpersonalawe—moralbeauty,virtuosity,extremealtruism,andperhapscharismaticdominance—meritsystematicinvestigation.”
FactorsThatInfluenceWhoExperiencesAwe 21
V. FactorsThatInfluenceWhoExperiencesAwe
Wouldyousaythatyoufrequentlyexperienceawe?Morethanotherpeopledo?Somepeopleareindeedmorefrequentlyawestruckthanothers,andresearchershaveexploredwhethercertainfactors—includingone’spersonality,socialclass,religion,andculture—mightexplainthesedifferences,bothasageneralpropensityandinspecificsituations.
A.PersonalityAfewstudieshaveexploredwhethercertainpersonalityfactorsmakesomepeoplemorepronetoexperiencingawe.WhenitcomestotheBigFivepersonalitytraits—extraversion,conscientiousness,agreeableness,opennesstoexperience,andneuroticism—peoplewhoaremoreopentoexperiencereportfeelingmoreaweingeneral(Shiotaetal.,2006)[379](Silviaetal.,2015)[70](althoughthiswasnotseenwhenpersonalityratingsweremadebyafriendorpartnerinsteadofbyself-report)andinresponsetoawe-provokingstimulilikeimagesofspaceoramovingpieceofmusic(Silviaetal.,2015)[70].Additionally,onestudyfoundthatpeoplewhoweremoreopentoexperienceweremorelikelytoreportanawe-relatedstate(feelingeuphoric,amazed,happyorinspired)whentheyrecalledatimetheyhadfeltlikecryingwhilelisteningtomusic;neuroticpeopleweremorelikelytoreportasadstate(Cotter,Silvia,&Fayn,2017)[34].Peoplewhoreportedbeingmoreextravertedalsoreportedagreatertendencytoexperienceaweingeneral,inonestudy(Shiotaetal.,2006)[379].(However,thisrelationshipbetweenextraversionandawewasnotfoundwhenaclosefriendorpartner,ratherthantheparticipantsthemselves,ratedtheparticipants’extraversion.)Anotherstudyfoundthattheeffectofextraversiononone’slikelihoodtofeelaweinresponsetoparticularstimuliwasnearzero(Silviaetal.,2015)[70].Whilefurtherresearchisneededtoconfirmthesefindings,thispreliminaryworksuggeststhatpeoplewhoaremoreopentonewexperiencesmayfeelmoreawe;itislessclearwhetherextraversionortheotherpersonalitytraitshavemuchofaneffect.Interestingly,otherstudieshavefoundthatopennesstoexperienceisastrongpredictorofwhowillexperiencechillsinresponsetomusicorotherart(McCrae,2007)[162](Nusbaum&Silvia,2011)[69].Theseaestheticchillsmaystemfromtheaweexperience,aswillbediscussedlater.BeyondtheBigFive,thereareothertraitsthatmaypredisposesomepeopletoexperienceawemorefrequentlythanotherpeople.Forexample,onestudyfoundthatpeoplewithastrongneedforcognitiveclosure—thosewhoare“uncomfortablewithambiguity,prefercontinuityintheirsurroundingsandinwhatisexpectedofthem,anddislikesituationsthatdonothavea‘correct’answerorresponse”—reportlessofatendencytoexperienceawe,suggesting“thatawe-proneindividualsshouldbeespeciallycomfortablerevisingtheirownmentalstructures,oracknowledgingthatcurrentlyheldmentalstructuresarenotadequatetotheoccasion”(Shiotaetal.,2007)[265].Similarly,arecentstudyfoundthat
FactorsThatInfluenceWhoExperiencesAwe 22
peoplewithlowneedforcognitiveclosureexperiencedmoreaweinresponsetoreflectiveandcomplexmusic(Pilgrim,Norris,&Hackathorn,2017)[1].Wisdommayalsomakepeoplemorepronetoexperienceawe.Asurveyof1,553middle-agedandolderU.S.adultsfoundthatthosewhoreportedhavingahighlevelof“practicalwisdom,”asmeasuredwithquestionslike,“OvertheyearsI’vefoundthatwisdomhasalottodowithlearningfrommymistakes,”alsoreportedexperiencingmoreaweofGod(Krause&Hayward,2015)[14].Onepossibleexplanationforthisfindingisthatwisepeoplearemoretolerantofambiguityanduncertainty,andthusmaybebetterabletohandletheneed-for-accommodationcomponentofanaweexperience.“[W]henitcomestoissuesofaweofGodspecifically,itseemsunlikelythatafullunderstandingcaneverbeattained,”writetheresearchers.“SothetypeofpersonwhoismorelikelytoreachoutandembracefeelingsoftheaweofGodwhentheyariseistheindividualwhounderstandsthelimitsofhisorherownknowledgeandhasarelativelyhighleveloftoleranceforambiguity.”
B.CharacterTraitsDopositivecharactertraitsmakepeoplemorelikelytoexperienceawe?Astudyof574Germanadultsfoundthatparticipants’dispositionalawewassignificantlycorrelatedwithall24characterstrengthsintheValuesinActionInventoryofStrengths(VIA-IS)(Güsewell&Ruch,2012)[203].Aperson’slevelofdispositionalawewasmoststronglycorrelatedwiththeirappreciationofbeauty,gratitude,religiousness,creativity,andloveoflearning.Importantly,whiletheseresultssuggestthatpeoplewhohavethesestrengthsmaybemorepronetoexperiencingawe,theycannotprovideuswithanyinformationaboutpossiblecausalrelationshipsbetweenaweandthesestrengths.
C.SocialClass
Perhapssurprisingly,thereissomeevidencethatsocialclassmayinfluenceawe.Onestudyfoundthatwhilepeoplefromhighersocialclassesreportedmorefrequentlyexperiencingself-orientedemotionslikeprideandcontentmentthanpeoplefromlowersocialclasses,peoplefromlowersocialclassesreportedmorefrequentlyexperiencingother-orientedemotionssuchascompassionandlove—aswellasawe—thanpeoplefromhighersocialclasses.Apotentialexplanationforthisfindingputforthbytheresearchersisthathigherclasspeoplearemorepronetoexperiencingnarcissism,whichmay“reininpropensitiestowardaweanditsself-diminishingeffects”(Piff&Moskowitz,2017)[0].
D.Religion
Whilemultiplestudieshavemeasuredtheextenttowhichaweexperiencesinfluencespiritualandreligiousfeelings,thereislittleknownaboutwhetherbeingreligiousorspiritualmakespeoplemoreorlesslikelytoexperienceawe.Onestudyfoundthatbothreligiousandnon-religiouspeoplereportedfeelingaweandexperiencingthesmallselfwhenrecountingaspiritualexperience(Preston&Shin,2017)[3].Thisresultoccurreddespitedifferencesinthetypesofspiritualexperiencesthatreligiousandnon-religious
FactorsThatInfluenceWhoExperiencesAwe 23
peoplerecounted:Religiouspeopleweremorelikelytomentionexplicitlyreligiousorlife-or-deathevents,whilenon-religiouspeopleweremorelikelytomentionexperiencesinnatureorwithyogaandmeditation.AnothersmallstudyfoundthatpeoplewhodidnotexperienceaweduringasimulatedexperienceofviewingEarthfromspaceweremorereligiousandspiritual,onaverage,thanthosewhodid(Reinerman-Jones,Sollins,Gallagher,&Janz,2013)[14].Thissuggeststhatreligiosityisafactorintheexperienceofawe,atleastinthisscenario.However,thisstudydidnotexplorewhetherreligiousadherentsaremoreorlesslikelytoexperienceaweinothercontexts.Itwouldbeinterestingtoknowwhetherreligiondecreases,increases,orsimplyshiftstheexperienceofawetodifferentsituations,butthisquestionhasnotyetbeenthoroughlyexplored.
E.CultureWhilethevastmajorityofstudiesonawehavebeenconductedwithparticipantsfromjustafewWesterncountries,thereissomeevidencethatculturemaybeafactorinwhoexperiencesawe.Forexample,a2016studyofadultsfromtheU.S.,Iran,Malaysia,andPolandfoundthattherewerecountry-leveldifferencesfordispositionalawe,amusement,andpride,andthelargestdifferencewasseenwithawe(Razavi,Zhang,Hekiert,Yoo,&Howell,2016)[1].ParticipantsfromtheU.S.reportedthehighestdispositionalawewhilepeopleinIranreportedthelowest,andthedifferencebetweenthesecountrieswasquitelarge.Theresearchersnotethatthismapswithpreviouslyreportedcountry-widelevelsofextraversion—theU.S.havingthehighestmeanextraversionandIranthelowest—perhapsprovidingmoreevidencethatdispositionalawemayrelatetoextraversion.Importantly,thescaleusedtotestdispositionalaweinthisstudyincludedanitem—“Iseekoutexperiencesthatchallengemyunderstandingoftheworld”—relatedtovaluingawe,andscoresonthisitemwerenotsignificantlydifferentbetweenIranian,Malaysian,andAmericanparticipants,suggestingthattheseparticipantsvaluedawesimilarlybutdifferedinthefrequencywithwhichtheyhadaweexperiences.Furtherresearchwillneedtoprobepossiblemechanismsbehindthesecountry-leveldifferences.Anotherrecentstudyfoundculturaldifferencesintheprecisenatureoftheaweexperienceitself—theeffectsthattheexperiencehadonpeople—particularlyinregardstothe“smallself;”thesefindingswillbediscussedinthenextsection(Baietal.,2017)[2].
EffectsofAwe 24
VI. EffectsofAweEvidencefromstudiestodatesuggeststhatfeelingawecanleadtoahostofphysiological,psychological,andsocialeffects.Theserangefromgoosebumpstoanexpandedperceptionoftimetoincreasedgenerosity.
A.PhysiologicalEffects
Weoftenexperienceemotionsnotjustinourmindsbutinourbodiesaswell—infact,thesebodilysensationsmaybeanessentialcomponentofanemotionalexperience(James,1884)[5239].Aweisnoexception.Theexperienceofaweisassociatedwithanumberofphysiologicaleffects,includingchangesinnervoussystemactivity,goosebumps,chills,andpossiblyreducedinflammation.Whilepastresearchhasshownthatdifferentnegativeemotionsareassociatedwithdifferentresponsesbytheautonomicnervoussystem(ANS),researcherspaidmuchlessattentiontohowpositiveemotionsrelatetoANSresponsesuntila2011studybyMichelleShiotaandcolleagues(Shiotaetal.,2011)[97].Theautonomicnervoussystemcontainsboththesympatheticbranch,whichcontrolsthebodilyfunctionsneededfora“fightorflight”response,andtheparasympatheticbranch,whichcontrolsthe“restinganddigesting”functionscharacteristicoflessstressfulscenarios.Theresearchershypothesizedthatwhenpeopleviewedawe-inspiringimages,parasympatheticactivitywouldincreaseandsympatheticactivitywoulddecreasebecauseawerequiresfocusingonanoutsidestimulus,beingrelativelyimmobile,andexertingintensecognitiveeffort.Theresultsofthisstudylargelysupportedthishypothesis,withtheexceptionbeingthatawetendstoincreaserespirationrate(asympatheticnervoussystemfunction).However,amorerecentstudysuggeststhatANSresponsestoawemaydependonthetypeofaweexperienced(Gordonetal.,2017)[41].Thisstudyfoundthatexperiencingthreat-basedawe—asprovokedbywatchingavideothat“depictedtheearth,space,andotherstarsinthesolarsystemsettoominousmusic”—ledtoincreasedsympatheticnervoussystemactivity(suchasincreasedheartrate).Theseresultssuggestthatthreat-basedawe,andperhapsothertypesofawe,mayhavedifferentphysiologicaleffectsthanmorepositiveexperiencesofawe.Theautonomicnervoussystemcontrolsanotherphysiologicalresponsethathasbeentiedtoawe:goosebumps(knownscientificallyas“piloerection”).Infact,astudythataskedpeopletokeepajournalofthetimestheyhadexperiencedgoosebumpsfoundthatawewassecondonlytofeelingcoldinelicitinggoosebumps(Schurtzetal.,2012)[34].Asecondpartofthisstudyaskedparticipantstorememberatimewhentheyhadfeltgoosebumpsinresponsetoanotherperson—specifically,thatperson’s“superiorpower,orsuperiorabilitiesortalents,orextraordinaryactions,orgreateradvantageoveryou”;the
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studyalsomeasuredtheparticipants’emotionalreactiontothesituationtheyrecalled—specifically,theextenttowhichpeoplefeltawe,envy,orfearinrelationtothatperson.Thisexperimentfoundthattheintensityofgoosebumpswaspositivelyassociatedwithawebutnegativelycorrelatedwithenvy.Finally,athirdpartofthestudyfoundthatpeoplewhorecalledatimewhentheyhadfeltintenseaweofanotherpersonweremorelikelytoreporthavinggoosebumpsthanpeoplewhowroteaboutfeelingenvious,andtheextenttowhichtheyreportedawewasassociatedwiththedegreeofgoosebumps(therewasnocorrelationbetweenenvyandgoosebumps).Anotherstudymeasuredgoosebumpsdirectlywhileparticipantslistenedtoclipsofvariouspiecesofmusicorfilm;itfoundthattherewasasignificantassociationbetweengoosebumpsandthefeelingof“beingmoved”(Benedek&Kaernbach,2011)[113].Thestateofbeingmovedortouchedislikelyrelatedtoawe,althoughsomehavearguedthatonecanbemovedwithoutexperiencingawe(Konečni,2005)[187].Somescientistshaveadvancedaninterestingpotentialexplanationforwhyawemaycausegoosebumps:Experiencingaweorbeingmovedmayinvokefeelingsofvulnerability.Whenthreatened,someanimalsextendtheirbodyhair,possiblytomakethemlooklarger.Thus,humangoosebumpscouldbe“anevolutionaryreliccorrespondingtoaresponsetothethreateningaspectofbeingmovedortouched”(Benedek&Kaernbach,2011)[113].Incontrast,Keltnerhassuggestedthat,sincehumansoftenexperiencegoosebumps“whenweourselvesfeelexpandedbeyondtheboundariesofourskin,andfeelconnectedtoothergroupmembers...[p]iloerectionshiftedfromanassociationwithadversarialdefensetoconnectiontothecollective”(Keltner,2009)[336].Intriguingly,resultsfromanotherstudymayreconciletheseopposingviewsofthefunctionofgoosebumpsinhumans(Maruskin,Thrash,&Elliot,2012)[51].Thisstudyexaminedwhatwecolloquiallycall“thechills”—bodilyresponsesthataccompanystrongemotions.Itfoundthat“thechills”canactuallybebrokendownintotwocategories:“goosetingles”(goosebumpsandatinglingsensation)and“coldshivers”(coldnessandshivers),whichhavelikelybeenconflatedinpreviousstudies.Furthermore,multipleexperimentsinthisstudyrevealedthatgoosetingleswereassociatedwithpositiveemotionalstateswhilecoldshiverswererelatedtonegativestates.Intheseexperiments,goosetingleswereassociatedwithhighlevelsofawe,butcoldshiverswerenot(thisstudyaskedaboutaweingeneral;itremainstobedeterminedwhetherthreat-basedaweisassociatedwithgoosetinglesorcoldshivers).Additionally,oneexperimentfoundthatexperiencinggoosetinglesledpeopletoreportfeelingmoreconnectedtoanattachmentfigure(theirmother)whileexperiencingcoldshivershadtheoppositeeffect.Thesefindingsaroundgoosetinglesareconsistentwithotherevidencesuggestingthatexperiencingaweleadspeopletofeelmoreconnectedtoothersandprosocial,arelationshipthatwillbediscussedinmoredepthinthefollowingsection.Whilethestudiesdiscussedinthissectionthusfarhavefocusedontheimmediatephysiologicaleffectsofawe,resultsfromonestudysuggestthatfrequentlyexperiencingaweovertimecouldpotentiallyhavepositivelong-termhealtheffects(Stellaretal.,
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2015)[78].Thisstudyprobedapossiblelinkbetweenpeople’stendencytoexperiencedifferentpositiveemotionsandchronicinflammation,whichcanincreaseone’sriskofdevelopingvariouschronicdiseases.Thefirstpartofthestudyfoundthat,outofsevenpositiveemotionsstudied,dispositionalawewastheonlyemotionthatwassignificantlynegativelyassociatedwithlevelsofinterleukin-6(IL-6),a“proinflammatorycytokine”andmarkerofinflammation.Highlevelsofproinflammatorycytokineshavebeenlinkedtoanumberofchronicdiseases,suchascardiovasculardisease,diabetes,anddepression.Asecondpartofthestudyfoundthatparticipantswhoreportedfeelingmore“awe,wonder,andamazementthatday”hadlowerlevelsofIL-6;thisassociationremainedevenaftercontrollingfordispositionalaweandopennesstoexperience,suggestingthatitisn’tjustpeoplewhoarepronetoexperiencingawefrequentlywhomayhavedecreasedinflammationfollowingaparticularlyawe-filledday.Whymightfrequentlyexperiencingawepredictlowerlevelsofmarkersofchronicinflammation?Beforedelvingintothepossibilities,it’simportanttonotethatthisstudycannottellusanythingaboutcausality—i.e.whetherawereducesIL-6orwhetherhigherIL-6reducesawe.Thereexiststhepossibilitythathavingmoreproinflammatorycytokinesinone’sbodymightactuallyreduceone’slikelihoodofexperiencingawe.Indeed,previousstudieshavefoundevidencethatproinflammatorycytokinesmaydecreasepositiveaffect(Janicki-Deverts,Cohen,Doyle,Turner,&Treanor,2007)[50]andencouragesocialwithdrawalandexploration,possiblyasamechanismforencouragingsickorinjuredpeopletorestandrecover(Maier&Watkins,1998)[1234].Asaresult,thatsocialwithdrawalandreducedexplorationcouldleadtofeweropportunitiestoexperienceawe.However,analternativepossibilityisthatawe’sabilitytoincreasefeelingsofinterconnectednessmayhelpfostersupportiverelationships,whichhavebeenassociatedwithdecreasedcytokinelevels(Kiecolt-Glaser,Gouin,&Hantsoo,2010)[276].Furtherworkwillbeneededtoteaseapartthesepossibilitiesandshedmorelightontheconnectionbetweenaweandchronicinflammation—includingtodeterminewhetherthereisindeedaconnectioninthefirstplace.
B.PsychologicalEffects
Thoughnewfindingsonthephysiologicaleffectsofawecontinuetoemerge,thereisanevenmorerobustbodyofresearchattestingtoawe’spsychologicaleffects.Theseeffectsincludebothcognitive(e.g.,one’sperceptionoftime)andemotional(e.g.,positivemood)outcomes.ThesmallselfResearchsuggeststhatawediminishesaperson’ssenseofself,shiftingtheirfocusawayfromtheirownconcerns.Accordingly,perhapsthemoststudiedpsychologicaleffectassociatedwithaweisthe“smallself”—thefeelingofbeingsmallrelativetoone’ssurroundings.Inonestudy,participantswhowereaskedtodescribeatimewhentheyhad
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observedabeautifulnaturalscenereportedfeelingmoreaweandmorestronglyreportedfeeling“smallorinsignificant”thanthosewhodescribedatimewhentheyhadfeltprideaboutapersonalaccomplishment(Shiotaetal.,2007)[265].Inanotherstudy,participantswhowroteaboutanaweexperiencemorestronglyreported“feelingsmallrelativetoenvironment/others”thanparticipantswhowroteaboutotheremotionalexperiences(Camposetal.,2013)[92].Andastudyinwhichparticipantsviewedaslideshowofspectacularnaturalscenes,mundanenaturalscenes,orneutralscenesfoundthatparticipantswhoviewedthespectacularscenesreportedfeelingmoreaweandsmallnessthanparticipantsintheothertwogroups(Joye&Bolderdijk,2015)[23].Yetanotherstudyfoundthatincreasedfeelingsofthesmallselfcouldbeevokedbyaskingpeopletorecallatimewhentheyhadfeltawe(versusprideorcompletinganeutralwritingactivity)andwhenwatchingawe-provokingnaturevideos(versusamusingorneutralnaturevideos)(Piffetal.,2015)[133].Importantly,thisstudyalsofoundthatwatchingvideosofthreateningnaturalphenomenaandanon-nature-basedawe-inducingstimulus(awaterdropletfallinginslowmotion)couldinducefeelingsofthesmallselfaswell.Andanotherexperimentfoundthatstaringupattoweringeucalyptustreeselicitedmoreaweandfeelingsofthesmallselfthanstaringupatatallbuilding,suggestingthatphysicallylargestimulidonotuniversallyevokethesmallself.Thesefindingssuggestthatstimulidonotneedtoinvokeonlypositivefeelingsofawe,bephysicallyvast,orbenaturalscenestocreateaperceptionofadiminishedself.Astudythatexploredsimilaritiesanddifferencesintheaweexperienceamongpeoplefrommoreindividualisticcultures(e.g.,theUnitedStates)vs.peoplefrommorecollectivisticcultures(e.g.,China)foundsomeculturaldifferencesinthesmallselfphenomenon(Baietal.,2017)[2].Theresearchershadtwoopposinghypothesesforhowculturemightinfluencethisphenomenon.Previousresearchhadfoundthatpeoplefrommoreinterdependent/collectivisticcultureshaveasmallerperceivedself-sizecomparedtopeoplefrommoreindependent/individualisticculturesevenwithoutexposuretoawe-inspiringstimuli(Kitayama,Park,Sevincer,Karasawa,&Uskul,2009)[384].Theresearchersthereforehypothesizedeitherthatawemaymagnifythisdifference(peoplefromcollectivistcultureswouldhaveextra-diminishedselveswhilethosefromindividualistcultureswouldnotexperiencetheeffectasmuch)—or,conversely,thatawemayhaveagreatereffectonthediminishedselfinpeoplefromindividualisticculturessincethereisgreaterroomtomoveinthatdirection.Totestthesehypotheses,ChineseandU.S.universitystudentskeptadiaryabouttimestheyhadexperiencedaweandjoyandreportedtheirperceivedself-sizebyindicatingwhichofsevendifferentlysizedcirclestheyfeltbestrepresentedtheirsize(seeFigure3).Ondayswhenstudentshadreportedfeelingawe,theyreportedfeelingsmallerthanondayswhentheyhadreportedfeelingjoy,andthisdifferencewasgreaterfortheChinesestudents,supportingtheideathatawemagnifiestheexistingdifferenceinperceivedselfsizebetweencollectivisticandindividualisticcultures.Additionally,thereportedsizeofthestimulithatevokedawewasnotsignificantlyassociatedwiththesmall-selfeffect—againsuggestingthatactualphysicalvastnessoftheawe-provokingstimuliisnotnecessaryforthiscognitivephenomenon.
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Figure3.Amethodformeasuring“thesmallself”(Baietal.,2017)[2].AnotherexperimentinthisstudyaskedtouristsatYosemiteNationalParkandFisherman’sWharf,atouristareainSanFrancisco,abouttheirfeelingsofaweandotheremotions,aswellastheirsenseofself.TouristsofallculturalbackgroundsatYosemitereportedexperiencingsignificantlymoreawe,chosesmallercirclestorepresenttheircurrentself,drewself-imagesthatwerenearly33percentsmaller,andproducedasmaller“Me”writtennexttotheirself-imagethantouristsatFisherman’sWharf(seeFigure4).However,thesedifferencesweregreaterfortouristsfromNorthAmericaandEuropethanfortouristsfromEastAsia.Theresearcherswritethat“theexperienceofaweinthepresenceofnaturalwonderhadagreatereffectonrenderingtheselfsmallforindividualsfromindividualisticculturesasopposedtocollectivist,EastAsiancultures.”However,anotherexperimentinthesamestudyfoundthatChineseandU.S.collegestudentsreportedsimilardecreasesinselfsizebetweenbeforeandafterwatchinganawe-inspiringvideofromthePlanetEarthseries.Overall,thisstudysuggeststhattheremaybeculturaldifferencesinthesmall-selfeffect,butfurtherworkisneededtoelucidatewhatcausesthesedifferencesacrossspecificawe-inducingscenarios.
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Figure4.Participantsdrewlargerself-portraits(c)atFisherman’sWharf(a)andsmallerself-portraits(d)atYosemiteNationalPark(b).Figureisfrom(Baietal.,2017)[2].Spiritualexperiencesmaybeparticularlygoodatevokingthesmall-selfeffect.Thedailydiarystudymentionedabovefoundthatpeoplefrombothgroupsreportedfeelingsmallerondayswhentheyfeltawefromaspiritualexperiencethanondayswhentheymentionedotherawe-elicitingexperiences(Baietal.,2017)[2],andanotherstudyfoundthatrecallingspiritualexperiencesledbothreligiousandnon-religiouspeopletoreportmoreofthesmall-selfeffectthanrecallingahumorousexperience;moreover,theextenttowhichpeoplefeltsmallcouldpredicttheirlevelofawe(Preston&Shin,2017)[3].Togetherthesestudiessuggestthatfeelingadiminishedsenseofselfisacommoneffectofexperiencingawe,aresultthatmayhelpexplainsomeofawe’sotherpsychologicaleffects,suchasinducinghumilityandasenseofconnectionwithothers,discussedbelow.HumilityBesidescausingpeopletoperceivethemselvesassmaller,awemayalsomakepeoplemorehumble,atleastaccordingtoonerecentstudy(Stellar,Gordon,Anderson,etal.,2017)[2].Thisstudyfoundthatpeoplewhoaremoredispositionallypronetoexperiencingawewereratedasmorehumblebytheirfriends;peoplewhoreportedfeelingmoreaweoverthecourseoftwoweeksalsoreportedfeelingmorehumble;andexperimentallyinducingaweinparticipantsledthemto“presentamorebalancedviewoftheirstrengthsand
EffectsofAwe 30
weaknessestoothersandacknowledge,toagreaterdegree,thecontributionofoutsideforcesintheirownpersonalaccomplishments.”Furthermore,participantswhoexperiencedanawe-inducingvistainpersonreportedmoreself-diminishmentandfeelingmorehumblethanparticipantswhoviewedaneutralscene.Analysisofthelatterfindingssupportedtheclaimthat“aweledtoself-diminishment,whichinturngaverisetohumility.”Anotherstudyfoundthatpeoplewhorecalledaspiritualexperiencereportedfeelingmoreawethanpeoplewhorecalledahumorousmemory,andrecallingspiritualexperienceswasalsoassociatedwithgreaterreportedspiritualhumility(“adeferenceorsubmissivestancebeforeGod,relatedtoafeelingofsacredsmallself”)forreligiousparticipants;fornon-religiousparticipants,itwasassociatedwithgreaterfeelingsof“intellectualhumility,”whichtheresearchersdefineas“awillingnesstochangebeliefswhenconfrontedwithconflictinginformation,relatedtotheneedforcognitiveaccommodation”(Preston&Shin,2017)[3].Whymightarelationshipexistbetweenaweandhumility?Bothfeelingsarekeytopeople’sunderstandingoftheirplaceintheworld.“Humility,centraltohavingarealisticandsecuresenseoftheselfalongsideanappreciationofthevalueandcontributionsofothers,representsavitalvirtueatthefoundationofmoralityand[isa]keytolivinginsocialgroups,”writeresearcherJenniferStellarandhercolleagues.“Awe,whicharisesasoneconfrontsthevastnessandcomplexityoftheworld,helpsindividualsgainperspectiveontheirimportanceandplacewithinit.”Thiscouldhelpexplainwhyreligiousandnon-religiouspeoplemayhavedifferentresponsestospiritualexperiences.Bothgroupsexperiencehumilityinthefaceofawe,buttheyexperienceitdifferentlybecausetheyarecomingatthesituationfromdifferentvantagepoints.Religiouspeoplemaynotneedtocognitivelyaccommodateaparticularspiritualexperiencebecauseit’salreadyingrainedintotheirperceptionofreality,whereasnon-religiouspeoplemayneedtocognitivelyaccommodateaspiritual,awe-inducingmoment.CognitiveaccommodationAsdiscussedearlier,theneedforcognitiveaccommodationhasbeenproposedasacoreelementoftheaweexperience(Keltner&Haidt,2003)[755].Afewotherstudieshavesoughttodeterminewhether,consistentwithKeltnerandHaidt’stheoryaboutaccommodation,experiencingawedoesindeedleadpeopletochangethewaytheyviewtheworld.Asmentionedpreviously,researchhasfoundthatpeoplewhoreporthighdispositionalawealsoreportalowerneedforcognitiveclosure,anindicatorthattheyareopentomodifyingtheirworldview;however,itisunknownwhetherthislowerneedforcognitiveclosureisaneffectoffrequentlyexperiencingaweorwhetherthereissomeotherexplanationfortherelationship(Shiotaetal.,2007)[265].Inanotherstudy,participants
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taskedwithwritingaboutatimewhentheyhadexperiencedspecificemotionswereaskedtowhatextentthey“feltthesituationchallengedtheirworldview(e.g.,seeingsomethingnotthoughtpossible).”Peoplewhowroteaboutaweexperiencesreportedhavingfeltthemostchallengedintheirworldview,althoughtheratingwasstillrelativelylow(1.97ona5pointscale)andwasnotsignificantlyhigherthanpeoplewhowroteaboutexperiencesofgratitude,interest,joy,orlove(Camposetal.,2013)[92].However,otherstudieshavefoundevidencesupportingtheideathatawepromotescognitiveaccommodationbyencouragingpeopletothinkmorecritically.“Becausethetheorizedfunctionofaweistoincreasesystematic,accommodativeprocessing,wehypothesizedthataweshouldleadtomorecarefulscrutinyofpersuasivemessages,”writeVladasGriskeviciusandcolleaguesinonestudy.Inparticular,thisstudyfoundthatwhenpeoplewereinducedtofeelawe,theywerelesspersuadedbyweakargumentsthanwerepeoplewhodidacontrolactivity(imaginingdoingtheirlaundry).Thiswasincontrasttotheeffectofsomeotherpositiveemotions;peopleinducedtofeelanticipatoryenthusiasmoramusement,forexample,weremorepersuadedbyweakarguments(Griskeviciusetal.,2010)[170].Anotherstudyfoundthatexperiencingawemadepeoplelesslikelytorelyoninternalizedscripts.Peoplewhowatchedawe-inducingvideoswerelesslikelytofalselyrecalldetailsofastorytheyheardaboutatraditionalromanticdinner—theywerelesslikelytoratefalsedetailsas“true”simplybecausetheyseemedplausible—thanwerepeoplewhowatchedgeneralpositiveorneutralvideosbeforehearingthestory(Danvers&Shiota,2017)[3].Thisstudymayexemplifyonewaythataweexpandspeople’sworldview,encouragingthemtoseethingshowtheyareandnotastheyexpectthemtobe.PerceptionoftimeAwemayalsoexpandourperceptionoftime.Onestudyfoundthatpeopleinducedtofeelaweagreedmorestronglywithstatementssuggestingthattimeisplentifulandexpansivethandidpeopleinducedtofeelhappiness(Rudd,Vohs,&Aaker,2012)[229].Otherexperimentsinthisstudyfoundthatifpeoplewhofeltaweexperiencedthisexpandedperceptionoftime,theywerethenmorewillingthanotherpeopletovolunteertheirtimetohelpothers,topreferexperientialpurchasesovermaterialones,andtoreportgreatersatisfactionwiththeirlives.Theresearchersspeculatethatbycausingpeopletobeimmersedinthemoment,awemayallowpeopletosavorthehereandnow:“[A]we-elicitingexperiencesmightofferoneeffectivewayofalleviatingthefeelingoftimestarvationthatplaguessomanypeopleinmodernlife,”theywrite.ConnectednessResearchsuggeststhatawehelpspeoplefeelmoreconnectedtootherpeople,andtohumanityasawhole.Astudyof1,535middle-agedandolderadultsfoundthatthosewhoreportedmoreaweofGodalsoreportedfeelingmoreconnectedtoothers(Krause&Hayward,2015)[14].Anotherstudyfoundthatpeoplewithhighdispositionalawewhowereaskedtowrite20responsestothequestion“WhoamI?”wrotemoreresponsesthat
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emphasized“membershipinauniversalgroup”(suchas“aperson”or“aninhabitantoftheEarth”)thandidpeoplewhoreportedexperiencingawelessfrequently.ThisstudyalsofoundthatexperimentallyelicitingawebyexposingparticipantstoaTyrannosaurusrexskeletonledthoseparticipantstousemoreself-descriptorsrelatedtothese“universalcategories”thandidpeoplewhohadspenttimeinaregularhallway,suggestingthataweincreasespeople’ssensethattheyarepartofagreaterwhole(Shiotaetal.,2007)[265].Inanotherstudy,researchersmeasuredtheextentofpeople’sfeelingthattheywerepartofacollective.Theyshowedparticipantssixpairsofcircleslabeled“self”and“community”thatoverlappedtodifferentdegrees—i.e.,thefirstpairdidn’toverlapatall,thesixthpairalmostentirelyoverlapped—andaskedthemtoselectwhichpairbestrepresentedtheirviewoftheirselfinrelationtoothers(seeFigure5).Peoplewhoreflectedonanaweexperiencechosecirclesthatoverlappedmorethanpeoplewhoreflectedonaneutralorshamefulmoment,indicatingthataweledpeopletofeelmorecollectiveengagement(Baietal.,2017)[2].
Figure5.TheInclusionofCommunityintheSelf(ICS)Scale(Mashek,Cannaday,&Tangney,2007)[84]Interestingly,anotherpartofthisstudyfoundevidencethatawe’seffectonconnectednessmaymanifestdifferentlyinpeoplefrommoreindividualisticculturesthaninthosefrommorecollectivistcultures.InanexperimentthatusedvideostoelicitfeelingsofaweoramusementamongAmericanandChinesecollegestudents,thenaskedthemtodrawtheirsocialnetworkusingcircles,foundthat,forAmericanstudents,aweledtodrawingalargernumberofsocialtiesthanamusement,butforChinesestudents,aweledtodrawingcirclesclosertogether(indicatinglesspsychologicaldistance)thanamusement.Thisfindingmaysuggestthataweleadspeoplefromindividualisticculturestofeelasiftheirsocialnetworkhasexpanded(theyfeelclosertomorepeople)whileitmayleadpeoplefromcollectivisticculturestofeelclosertothosealreadyintheirnetwork.Accordingtotheresearchers,thesefindingssuggestthatawe’sabilitytoevokethesmallselfcanbeconsidered“universal”—“whilevaryinginelicitor,magnitude,andcontent
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acrosscultures,itiscognitivelyavailabletoindividualsfromdifferentculturesandserve[s]asimilarend,inintegratingtheindividualintothecollective.”Finally,arecentstudysuggeststhatself-esteemmaymodifytheeffectofaweonfeelingsofconnection.Specifically,peoplewithlowerself-esteemreportedlessidentificationwithothersafterbeingexposedtoanawe-inspiringvideothananeutralvideo,butpeoplewithhigherself-esteemreportedmoreidentificationwithothersintheaweconditionthanintheneutralcondition(Hornsey,Faulkner,Crimston,Moreton,&Emerson,2018)[0].Theresearcherssuggestthatpeoplewithlowerself-esteemmaybemorelikelytoexperienceaweasthreatening,leadingto“adefensivereassertionofselfhoodthroughdisconnectingfromothers.”Positivemoodandwell-beingAwemayimproveaperson’smoodandsenseofwell-being.Inonestudy,peoplewhowatchedaslideshowofextraordinarynaturalscenesreportedabettermoodthantheyreportedbeforetheywatchedtheslideshow.Peoplewhoviewedmundanenaturalscenesalsoexperiencedamoodboost,butnotasmuchofone,andpeoplewhoviewedneutralscenesdidnothaveachangeinmood.Increasedfeelingsofawecouldexplaintheheightenedmoodpeopleexperiencedafterviewingtheextraordinaryscenescomparedtothemundanenaturalscenes.Ifthisexplanationholds,thenawe—andnotjustnaturalstimuli—mayhaveanexceptionalabilitytoimproveone’smood(Joye&Bolderdijk,2015)[23].ArecentstudywithVirtualRealitystimulifoundthatviewinghigh,snowymountainsincreasedpeople’spositiveaffect(mood),whileviewingtheEarthfromspaceoraforestdidnot;themountainscenealsoinducedthehighestlevelofawe,althoughtheotherstimulialsoincreasedawesignificantly(Chiricoetal.,2018)[0].Whetherornotanawe-inducingexperienceisthreatening(orperceivedasthreatening)mayinfluenceawe’seffectsonmoodandwell-being.Forexample,onestudyfoundthatpeople’sratingsofdailywell-beingwerehigherondayswhentheyhadhadpositiveaweexperiencesthanondayswhentheydidnotreportexperiencingawe;however,peopledidnotreportimprovedwell-beingondayswhentheyexperiencedthreat-basedawe(Gordonetal.,2017)[41].Furthermore,peoplewhowatchedpositiveawe-inducingnaturevideosexperiencedagreaterboostinwell-beingthandidpeoplewhowatchedneutralvideos—and,again,thosewhowatchedthreat-basednaturevideosdidnotreportimprovedwell-being.Anotherstudyfoundthat,afterwatchinganawe-inducingvideo,peoplewithhigherself-esteemreportedgreaterimprovementsinpositiveaffectthandidpeoplewhowatchedacontrolvideo.Peoplewithlowself-esteem,however,didnotexperiencethisincreaseinpositiveaffectandreportedasignificantincreaseinnegativeaffect.Asmentionedpreviously,it’spossiblethatpeoplewithlowself-esteeminterpretedthevideoasmorethreateningthanpeoplewithhigherself-esteem(althoughthatwasn’texplicitlytestedinthisstudy)(Hornseyetal.,2018)[0].
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Andaveryrecentlypublishedstudyfoundevidencethataweplaysanimportantroleinnature’sabilitytodecreasestressandincreasewell-being(Anderson,Monroy,&Keltner,2018)[0].Theauthorsofthisstudytookmilitaryveteransandyouthfromunderservedcommunitieswhitewaterrafting,andalsomeasuredtheirsymptomsofstressandtheiroverallwell-being.Theirresultsfoundthattheamountofawethattheparticipantsexperiencedcouldpredicttheextenttowhichtheirsymptomsofstressandindicatorsofwell-beinghadimprovedoneweeklater.Theseresearchersalsofoundthatundergraduatestudentsreportedfeelingmoreawe—aswellasgreaterlifesatisfactionandwell-being—ondayswhentheyspenttimeinnature.Thishigherlevelofawecouldstatisticallyexplainthegreatersenseoflifesatisfactionandwell-beingreportedbythesestudentsondayswhentheyhadbeeninnature,suggestingthatawemaybeacrucialingredientinnature’srestorativeabilities.LifesatisfactionThere’ssomeevidencetosuggestthatawemayalsoincreasepeople’ssenseofsatisfactionwiththeirlife.Whileastudyofmiddle-agedandolderadultsfoundthatexperiencingaweofGoddidleadtogreaterlifesatisfactioninsomecases,therewasnodirecteffect—experiencingaweofGoddidnotreliablyboostlifesatisfaction.However,theresearchersdididentifyanindirecteffect:WhenaweofGodinstilledagreatersenseofconnectednessinsomeone,thatsignificantlyincreasedthelikelihoodthattheywouldfeelgreatersatisfactionwiththeirlife,leadingtheresearcherstoconclude,“[T]herelationshipbetweenaweofGodandlifesatisfactionisfullyexplainedbythegreatersenseofconnectednessthataweofGodappearstoinstill”(Krause&Hayward,2015)[14].Inanotherstudy,participantswhoreadanawe-evokingstoryaboutseeingParisfromthetopoftheEiffelTowerreportedgreatermomentarylifesatisfactionthanpeoplewhoreadastoryaboutseeingaplainlandscapefromuphigh,andthiseffectcouldbepredictedbygreaterperceptionsofavailabletimeforthepeoplewhoreadtheParisstory(Ruddetal.,2012)[229].Thoughitisjustbasedonasinglestudy,thisresultsuggeststhatasingleshortaweexperience—elicitedbysomethingassimpleasastory—couldcreateashort-termboostinlifesatisfaction.DecreasedmaterialismAfewstudiessuggestthatexperiencingawemaydampenfeelingsofmaterialism.ThesameexperimentthatelicitedawebyhavingpeoplereadthestoryaboutvisitingtheEiffelTowerfoundthat,whengivenahypotheticalchoicebetweenamaterialgood(suchasa$50backpack)oranexperientialproduct(suchasa$50iTunesgiftcard),peopleintheaweconditionchosetheexperientialproductmoreoftenthanpeopleintheneutralconditiondid—andhereagain,people’spost-aweperceptionthattheyhadmoreavailabletimepredictedtheirpreferenceforexperiencesovermaterialgoods(Ruddetal.,2012)[229].Inanotherstudy,participantswhorecalledanaweexperienceplacedlessvalueonmoneythandidparticipantswhorecalledhappyorneutralexperiences,andviewingawe-inducingimagesreducedtheeffortpeoplewerewillingtoputintogettingmoney(whereeffortwas
EffectsofAwe 35
measuredbytoleranceforlisteningtotheunpleasantsoundofnailsscratching).Importantly,thiseffectwasseenwithdifferentvariantsofawe-inducingimages,includingnegativeandnon-natureimages(Jiang,Yin,Mei,Zhu,&Zhou,2018)[0].Whatmightexplainthisinverserelationshipbetweenaweandmaterialism?Accordingtotheresearchers,theanswermaylieintheself-transcendencethatcanresultfromawe.“Peopleinawestarttoappreciatetheirsenseofselfhoodaslessseparateandmoreinterrelatedtothelargerexistence,”theywrite.“Theexperienceofaweelevatespeoplefromtheirmundaneconcerns,whichareboundedbydailyexperiencessuchasthedesireformoney.”Furthersupportforapossibleinverserelationshipbetweenaweandmaterialismcomesfromarecentsetofstudiesthatfoundevidencethatawecanfunctionasabufferthatmakespeoplefeellessnegativelyaboutlosingpossessions(Koh,Tong,&Yuen,2017)[0].Morespecifically,thisstudyfoundthat:undergraduatestudentsinducedtofeelawereportedfeelinglessnegativeemotionwhenaskedtoimaginelosingapossessionthanstudentsassignedtoaneutralcondition;studentsinducedtoexperienceawewerelessupsetaboutlosingtheireligibilitytoreceive$20inanexperimentthanthoseassignedtoaneutralcondition;andstudentswhohadrecentlyexperiencedaweintheirdailyliveswerelesstroubledabouthavinglostanactualpossessionrecently.Accordingtotheresearchers,thesefindingssuggestthat“totheextentthatawediminishestheperceivedimportanceoftheself,itmayhelpbufferagainstthedistressresultingfromlosingapossession.”SpiritualfeelingsFormanypeople,experiencesofawearedeeplyintertwinedwithreligiosityandspirituality,andaweisaninherentcomponentofmanyreligioustraditions,stories,andrituals.AccordingtopsychologistKirkSchneider,asenseofaweis“foundationaltothemajorreligionsandmayevenbeatthevanguardofanewspiritualconsciousness”—whathecalls“awe-basedconsciousness”or“enchantedagnosticism”andothersterm“post-secularhumanism”(Schneider,2018)[0].Schneidersuggeststhatthis“awe-basedconsciousness”ishighlycompatiblewiththespiritualseekersamongstthegrowingnumberof“Nones”—peoplewhodonotidentifywithaparticularreligiousgroup.And,indeed,researchfromafewexperimentalstudiessuggeststhatawemayincreasespiritualand/orreligiousfeelings.Inonestudy,undergraduatestudentswhowatchedvideosexpectedtoelicitself-transcendentemotions(includingawe)—forexample,avideoofchildbirthoranaturevideo—reportedbeingmorereligious(asmeasuredbytheextenttowhichtheyagreedwithstatementslike“Religionisimportantinmylife”and“WithoutGodtheworldwouldnothaveameaning”)thanpeoplewhowatchedaneutralvideoofamanmakingbeer;however,peoplewhowatchedahumorousvideoalsoreportedthisincreaseinreligiousness(Saroglouetal.,2008)[152].Asecondexperimentusingthesamevideoswithanewgroupofparticipantsfoundthatpeoplewhowatchedoneofthetwoawevideosreportedbeingmorespiritualthanthosewhowatchedtheneutralorhumorousvideos.
EffectsofAwe 36
Thosewhowatchedthechildbirthandnaturevideosalsoreportedastrongeragreementwith“theideaofGodasthecreatoroftheworld,”althoughwhentheresearchersconsideredthoseresponsestogetherwiththeparticipants’responsestostatementsaboutwhethertheywouldtakeactionsrelatedtobeliefinGod(e.g.“Wouldyoustandupforthisconceptionifonecastsdoubtonit?”),therewasnotasignificantdifferencebetweenpeoplewhowatchedtheawevideosandthosewhowatchedtheneutralvideo.“Sincereligionimpliesconcreteandspecificengagementandbehaviortoagreaterextentthanspirituality,”writetheresearchers,“primingself-transcendentemotionsseemstobemoreefficientforincreasingspirituality[thanreligion].”Thatsaid,anotherstudydidfindevidencethatawemayactivatethebehavioralintentionsofreligiousandspiritualpeople.Inthisstudy,researchersfoundthatparticipants’levelofreligiosity/spiritualitywaspositivelyrelatedtotheirreportedwillingnesstovisitTibet(aspiritualdestination),butonlyaftertheyhadrecalledamemoryinvolvingawe(recallinganeutraleventhadnoeffect)(VanCappellen&Saroglou,2012)[88].Thisstudysuggeststhatawemayencouragereligiousand/orspiritualpeopletoengageinbehaviorsrelatedtoreligionorspirituality.Afewstudieshavefoundthataweexperiencesmayincreasesupernaturalbeliefs,atleastinsomepeople.Inparticular,asetoffiveexperimentsfoundthatexperiencingawedecreasedpeople’s“toleranceforuncertainty”andincreasedtheirsupernaturalbeliefsandintentionalperceptionofpatterns.Putanotherway,experiencesofaweconfrontpeoplewiththeinexplicable,therebydrivingthemtosearchforplausibleexplanations,evenifthoseexplanationsrelyonsupernaturalforces.Certainexperiencesofaweincreasedparticipants’supernaturalbeliefs,andinanotherexperiment,peoplewhohadjustexperiencedaweweremorelikelytobelievethatrandomstringsofnumbersweredeliberatelydesignedbyhumans(Valdesolo&Graham,2014)[80].Aweappearstoturnonour“agencydetectors”andleadsustoattributeambiguouseventstohumanorsupernaturalcauses.ScientificthinkingandlearningScienceisanotherframeworkforunderstanding,soonecouldreasonablywonderwhetherawemightleadpeopletoembraceascientificworldviewinordertomakesenseoftheirexperiencesandperceptions.Indeed,someresearchhasexploredthatquestion.Intriguingly,arecenttheoreticalpaperarguesthatawemayhelpfacilitatescientificlearningandreasoninginchildren(Valdesolo,Shtulman,&Baron,2017)[7].“Aweiselicitedinthepresenceofaneventthatisperceivedasamajorviolationofone’scurrenttheoriesabouttheworldandcannotbeassimilatedintoexistingmentalstructures,”writetheauthors.“Thefeelingofuncertaintycreatedbythisgapbetweenknowledgeandexperiencetriggersaneedforaccommodation(orknowledgerestructuring)thatpromotesexplanationandexploration,twocrucialantecedentsoflearning.”Forexample,whenachildseesananvilandfeatherdropatthesamerateinavacuum,thisexperiencelikelyviolatesthechild’sintuitiveunderstandingofhowgravityworks,creatinganeedfor
EffectsofAwe 37
accommodation(andlikelyawe),andencouragesthemtodevelopanewtheoryabouttherelationshipsbetweenweight,gravity,andmotion.“Inshort,awewilldrivetheconceptualchangeinthedomainofscience,definedbydissatisfactionwithexistingtheoriesandmotivatingthereplacementofthosetheorieswithnew,moreaccurateones,”suggesttheresearchers.Inagreementwiththistheorizedroleforawe,arecentsetofsixstudiesfoundthatpeoplewhohaveagreaterdispositiontoexperienceawehadamoreaccurateunderstandingofthenatureofscienceandweremorelikelytorejectcreationismandotherscientificallyquestionableexplanationsabouttheworld(Gottlieb,Keltner,&Lombrozo,2018)[0].Importantly,dispositionalawewasnotassociatedwithhaving“faith”inscience,justinunderstandinghowscienceworks.Throughaseriesofexperiments,anotherstudyfoundthatexperiencingawedrovetheiststowardacceptingsupernaturalexplanationsandawayfromscientificexplanations,butdidnotdrivenontheiststowardbeingmoreacceptingofeithersupernaturalorscientificexplanations.Aweexperiencesdid,however,drivenontheiststoplacemorestockinanexplanationofthetheoryofevolutionthatwas“framedasexplicitlyprovidingorderandexplanationandeschewingtheimportanceofrandomnessintheprocess”—however,thisisnotnecessarilyagoodthingasrandomnessisanessentialpartofthetheoryofevolution(Valdesolo,Park,&Gottlieb,2016)[3].Thereismuchlefttobeexploredabouttherelationshipbetweenaweandscientificlearning,reasoning,andthought,andthisrelationshipposesaparticularlyinterestingavenueforfurtherresearch.AweasatransformationalexperienceAlsowarrantingfurtherresearchisthetransformativeabilityofsomeaweexperiences.Theoryandanecdotalaccountssuggestthatsomeintenseaweexperiencescanprovokesuchprofoundcognitiveaccommodationthattheycreatelife-lastingchangesinhowpeopleviewthemselvesandtheworld.ClinicalpsychologistDavidElkinsdiscussedsuchtransformativeaweexperiencesinhis2001essay,“ReflectionsonMysteryandAwe”(Elkins,2001)[6].ElkinsnotesthattheologiansandreligiousscholarssuchRudolfOttoandMirceaEliadehavecharacterizedconceptsthatseemtoencompasssuchexperiences.Elkinsnotesthatprominentpsychologists,too,haveconsideredwhatcouldbedescribedastransformativeaweexperiences.WilliamJameswroteabooktitledTheVarietiesofReligiousExperience,whichElkinsnotesfeaturesmany“storiesofawe-filledencounterswiththemysticalandthesacred.”AndhedescribeshowAbrahamMaslow“wasalmostobsessedwiththerealmofbeingandwiththosemystical,awe-filledmomentsinlifethathecalled‘peakexperiences.’”
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Perhapsthemostmovingexampleofatransformativeaweexperienceincludedinthisessaycomesfrompsychiatrist,neurologist,andHolocaustsurvivorViktorFrankl,whorecountedanexperiencehehadafterbeingliberatedfromaconcentrationcamp.Hiswifeandfamilyhadbeenkilledandhehadbeenfilledwithdespair.
Oneday,afewdaysaftertheliberation,Iwalkedthroughthecountrypastfloweringmeadows,formilesandmiles,towardthemarkettownnearthecamp.LarksrosetotheskyandIcouldheartheirjoyoussong.Therewasnoonetobeseenformilesaround;therewasnothingbutthewideearthandskyandthelarks’jubilationandthefreedomofspace.Istopped,lookedaround,anduptothesky—andthenIwentdownonmyknees.AtthatmomenttherewasverylittleIknewofmyselforoftheworld—Ihadbutonesentenceinmind—alwaysthesame:‘‘IcalledtotheLordfrommynarrowprisonandHeansweredmeinthefreedomofspace.’’HowlongIkneltthereandrepeatedthissentencememorycannolongerrecall.ButIknowthatonthatday,inthathour,mynewlifestarted.StepforstepIprogressed,untilagainIbecameahumanbeing.(pp.141-42)
“Aweisalightningboltthatmarksinmemorythosemomentswhenthedoorsofperceptionarecleansedandweseewithstartlingclaritywhatistrulyimportantinlife,”writesElkins,whohadFranklashisgraduateprofessorandisaproponentofusingaweinpsychotherapy.“Momentsofawemaybethemostimportant,transformativeexperiencesoflife.”Asofyetmostoftheworkrelatedtotransformativeaweexperienceshasbeenqualitative,exploratory,ortheoreticalinnature.Thusmanyquestionsremainaboutwhatelementsofaweexperiencesmakethemmorelikelytoprovokesuchtransformationalfeelings,aswellaswhethercertainindividualcharacteristicsmaymakepeoplemorepronetoexperiencelastingchangefollowingmomentsofextremeawe.
C.(Pro)SocialEffectsThoughwemaythinkofaweasbeingaverypersonal,internalexperience,thereissomeemergingevidencesuggestingithassocialeffectsaswell,specificallyonourlevelsofkindnessandgenerosity.Inonestudy,peoplewhowereaskedtowriteaboutatimewhentheyhadexperiencedawereportedagreaterwillingnesstovolunteertheirtimeto“supportaworthycause”andto“helpacharity”thandidpeoplewhohadwrittenaboutatimewhentheyhadexperiencedhappiness.Theresearchershypothesizedthatanawe-relatedpromptinducedtheexpandedperceptionofavailabletimeassociatedwithawe,andasaresultoffeelingliketheyhadmoretimetogive,thestudyparticipantsweremorewillingtospendsomeoftheirtimehelpingothers(Ruddetal.,2012)[229].Consistentwiththishypothesis,peoplewhowroteaboutanaweexperiencereportedfeelinglesstimepressure(impatience)thanthosewhowroteaboutahappymemory.Additionally,therewasnodifferencebetweenthetwo
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groupsintheirwillingnesstodonatemoney,supportingtheideathatawe’seffectsonprosocialbehaviormaystemfromitsabilitytomakepeoplefeelliketheyhavemoreavailabletime.Thatsaid,otherstudieshavefoundassociationsbetweenaweandotherformsofgenerosityaswell.Inonestudy,peoplewhoreportedagreatertendencytoperceivenaturalbeautyalsoscoredhigheronmeasuresofagreeableness,perspectivetaking,andempathy(Zhang,Piff,Iyer,Koleva,&Keltner,2014)[94].Thisstudyalsofoundthatpeoplewhowereassignedtowatcheitheravideoorstillpicturesofbeautifulscenesweremoregenerousandtrustingineconomicgamesthanwerepeoplewhoviewedlessbeautifulimagery.Whilethisstudydidnotdirectlymeasureparticipants’levelsofawe,thereisreasontobelievethatawemaybeinvolvedintheseprosocialbehaviors,asnaturalstimuliareoneofthemostcommonelicitorsofawe.Amorerecentstudyusedmultiplemethodsandtesteddiversegroupsofparticipantstouncoversomeofthemostextensiveandvariedevidencetodatethatawerelatestoprosocialbehavior(Piffetal.,2015)[133].Inonepartofthestudy,participantsweregiven10ticketsforaraffleandaffordedtheopportunitytogivesomeoftheticketstoanassignedpartner.Thepeoplewithmoredispositionalawegaveawaysignificantlymoreoftheirraffleticketsrafflethandidpeoplewithlessdispositionalawe.Additionally,peoplewhowerefirstaskedtorecallatimewhentheyexperiencedawelaterreportedmoreethicalanswerstoasetofhypotheticalscenariosinvolvingselfishand/oramoralbehaviorthanpeoplewhowereaskedtorememberatimewhentheyhadfeltprideortorecallaneutralmemory(moreover,theextenttowhichtheyfeltthe“smallself”predictedtheethicalityoftheiranswers).Inaseparatepartofthestudy,participantswatchedeitheranawe-inspiringnaturevideo,anamusingvideo,oraneutralvideo,thenplayedagameinwhichtheyweregivenacertainamountofmoneyandwerefreetodecidehowmuchtosharewithotherpeople.Theparticipantswhowatchedtheawevideosreportedhighersmall-selfratingsandweremoregenerousinthegame.What’smore,participantsinyetanotherpartofthestudywhowatchedvideosofawe-inspiringstimulithateitherwerenon-nature-based(acoloredwaterdropletfallinginslowmotion)ordepictednaturalthreats(e.g.,tornadoes,volcanoes,etc.)exhibitedmoreprosocialtendenciesinagamewheretheyhadtoallocatepointsbetweenthemselvesandanunknownotherparticipantcomparedtoparticipantswhowatchedaneutralvideoclip.Finally,inyetanotherpartofthestudy,someparticipantsgazedatagroveoftoweringTasmanianeucalyptustreeswhileothersstaredupatatallbuilding.Thosewholookedatthetreesreportedmoreawe,fewerfeelingsofentitlement,andindicatedfeelingasmallerself.Andwhentheexperimenter"accidentally"droppedabunchofpensinfrontofeachparticipant,thetree-gazerspickedupmoreofthem—ameasureofhelpfulness.“Ourinvestigationindicatesthatawe,althoughoftenfleetingandhardtodescribe,servesavitalsocialfunction,”writetheresearchers.“Bydiminishingtheemphasisontheindividualself,awemayencouragepeopletoforegostrictself-interesttoimprovethewelfareofothers.”
EffectsofAwe 40
Anotherstudyaskedsomeparticipantstothinkofatimewhentheyhadexperiencedawefroma“stunningnaturallandscape,”thenlaterhadthemimaginewinningthelotteryandaskedthemhowmuchtheywouldgivetofriends,family,andcharity.Theseparticipantssaidtheywouldgiveawaysignificantlymoreoftheirhypotheticalwinningsthandidparticipantswhowereaskedtorecallanamusingorneutralmemory,againsuggestingthatawecaninducepeopletothinkmoreaboutothers(Prade&Saroglou,2016)[16].Inasecondexperiment,participantswhowatchedanawe-inducingvideoclipreportedsignificantlygreaterwillingnesstohelpothersinresponsetoaseriesofhypotheticalscenariosthandidpeoplewhowatchedamusingorneutralvideoclips.Interestingly,thisresultwasspecifictopeoplewithlessagreeablepersonalities;highlyagreeablepeoplewerenomoreprosocialintheaweconditionthanintheotherconditionsinthissecondexperiment.Otherresearchsuggeststhattherearesomelimitsofawe’sconnectiontoprosocialbehavior.Inthisstudy,researchersshowedparticipantsaslideshowofbeautifulpicturesandaskedthemtoreporthow“awed”—aswellas“spiritual,”“caring,”“connectedtoothers”and“fearful”—theyfeltwhilewatchingtheslideshow.Theresearchersfoundthatpeopledidindeedreportfeelingmoreawewhileviewingspectacularnaturalimagesthanwhileviewingmoremundaneorneutralimages,andtheyalsoreportedfeelingsignificantlysmaller,moreemotionallyaffected,fearful,interested,andsurprised;however,theydidnotreportfeelingmorecaringorconnected.Anotherpartofthisstudyfoundthatparticipantswhoviewedmoreawe-inspiringimagesweremorealtruisticwhenpresentedwithahypotheticalscenarioinwhichtheycouldbemoregenerousorselfishinhowtheydistributedresources;however,theydidnotreportbeingmorewillingtodonatefood,clothing,money,orbloodtovictimsofanaturaldisaster(Joye&Bolderdijk,2015)[23].Togetherthesestudiessuggestthatawemaypromptpeopletohelpothersandtobemoregenerous,andthattheseimpulsesmaybesupportedbyawe’sabilitytoencouragepeopletofocuslessonthemselves,aswellasitsabilitytoexpandtheirperceptionofavailabletime.
LimitationsandFutureDirections 41
VII. LimitationsandFutureDirectionsWhilethiswhitepaperisintendedtopresentafairlycomprehensiveoverviewoftheresearchonawetodate,thisisstillanascentfield—therearemanyscientificavenuesthatcanbefurtherexploredandquestionslefttobeanswered.Belowareafewofthelimitationsofthecurrentstateofaweresearch,aswellassomepromisingfuturedirections.LimitationsPerhapsthelargestlimitationofaweresearchisitsyouth.Becausetherearenotmanyresearchersstudyingawe,andthosewhoarestudyingithavenotbeendoingsoforverylong,manyofthefindingsdiscussedinthispaperhaveyettobereplicated.Anotherlimitationofaweresearchisinherenttotheverynatureoftheconceptofawe:oftenaweexperiencescanbeelusiveanddifficulttodefine.Thus,becauseexperimentersoftenusedifferentwaysofelicitingawe,itisdifficulttoknowifanawephenomenonprobedinonestudyissimilartoaweexploredviadifferentmethodsinanotherstudy.Additionally,itmaybedifficulttointerpretstudiesthatrelyonparticipantstorecallatimewhentheyhadexperiencedawebecausedifferentpeoplehavedifferentconceptionsofwhat“awe”means.Overtime,thefieldwilllikelybecomemoreconsistentinitsmethodsforelicitingandmeasuringawe,whichinturnwillcreatemoreconfidenceinresearchers’findings.Ontheotherhand,somepsychologistshavearguedthatthefieldofaweresearchhasveeredtoofarintothequantitativerealm.KirkSchneiderarguesinarecentarticlethatthenatureofawerequiresabroaderapproach.“[I]ftherewaseveratimewheremixedmethodswerecalledfor,thisisit,”hewrote.“Suchquantitativeandqualitativemethodscouldconsiderablyenrichourunderstandingofthelong-termandmultifacetedimplicationsofawe-inspiredlives”(Schneider,2017)[0].Studiesthattakeadvantageofsuchmixedmethodscouldhelppsychologistsgleaninsightsintoawiderrangeofaweexperiences.FuturedirectionsThescienceofaweisripeforfutureexploration;whatresearchersdon’tknowaboutawefareclipseswhattheydoknow.
• AweandprosocialbehaviorOneparticularlypromisingresearchdirectionistobetterunderstandtherelationshipbetweenaweandprosocialbehavior.Howexactlydoesaweleadtoprosocialbehavior(ifinfactitevendoessotobeginwith)?Doawe’seffectsextendtootherformsofprosociality,suchaspro-environmentalbehavior(Piffetal.,2015)[133]?Doesawemakeusmore
LimitationsandFutureDirections 42
generoustowardeveryoneuniversally,orjusttootherpeoplelikeus(Prade&Saroglou,2016)[16]?Furthermore,becausereligiousorganizationsare“socialinstitutionsthatelicit,organize,andritualizeawe,”couldpartoftheeffectthatreligionhasonprosocialbehaviorbeduetoawe(Piffetal.,2015)[133]?
• ThepsychologicaleffectsofaweManyquestionsalsostillsurroundawe’sotherpsychologicaleffects(Piffetal.,2015)[133].Forexample,howdoesthesmall-selfsensationdifferfromnegativefeelingsofsmallness(e.g.howonefeelswhenashamed)?Doesawemakepeoplemorecuriousand/oropentonovelexperiences?Howdoesaweinfluencememory?Couldawe“interventions”beusedtomakepeoplemoregenerous,humble,andpatient?
• TherelationshipbetweenspiritualityandaweWhileafewstudieshaveexploredthereligiousandspiritualaspectsofawe,includinghowexperiencingawecanelicitspiritualandreligiousfeelings(andithasbeenatopicforanumberofqualitativeessaysbyhumanisticpsychologists),thereisarelativedearthofstudiesonthistopicoverallconsideringtheprominenceofaweintheliteratureandinthehistoryofmanyreligioustraditions(intheir2003paper,KeltnerandHaidtevenpresentaweasaprimarycomponentofconversionsandotherreligiousexperiences).Inparticular,notmuchexperimentalresearchhasbeenconductedonhowawerelatestospecificreligiousandspiritualbeliefsandpractices,howreligiousinstitutionscultivateandbenefitfromelicitingaweinbelievers,andwhetherreligiousorspiritualpeopleexperiencemoreawethannon-spiritualandreligiouspeople.
• ThetherapeuticpotentialofaweAlongsimilarlines,anotherareaofresearchripeforfurtherexplorationisthepotentialuseofaweintherapeuticsettings.Someclinicalpsychologistshavealreadyconsideredthistopic.Forexample,inhisarticle“EnchantedAgnosticism,Awe,andExistential-IntegrativeTherapy,”KirkSchneiderdiscusseshow“awe-basedconsciousness”isthebasisofwhathecalls“existential-integrativetherapy,”aversionofpsychotherapythatcanhelppeopledevelop“anattitudeofinnerfreedom,acapacitytoaccessandexpressthefullerrangesofone’sexperience,andtherebyacapacitytoexperiencethehumilityandwonder—senseofadventure—towardliving”(Schneider,2014)[4].Andin2016,theentirespringissueofVoices,thejournaloftheAmericanAcademyofPsychotherapists,wasdevotedtothetopicofaweandpsychotherapy.“Despitebeingunderrepresentedinthescientificliterature,inalllikelihoodthevastmajorityoftherapistsintuitivelyrecognizethatexperiencesofaweoftensignifymomentousoccasionsinthecourseofanindividual’slife,”writespsychotherapistEdwardBonnerinanarticlewithinthisissue.“Itisequallylikelythatmostalsorecognizethattheseexperienceshavethecapacitytoinitiateprofoundandlong-lastingchanges”(Bonner,2016)[0].Bonnergoesontodescribevariousrecommendationsforhowtherapistscanhelpclientscultivate
LimitationsandFutureDirections 43
experiencesofawe.Theseincludepromotingclients’spiritualdevelopmentintherapy,takingadvantageofinterventionsthatpromoteopennesstoexperience(suchasexposuretherapyanddialecticdiscourse),addressingbarrierstoawesuchasrigidbeliefsystemsorareticencetofeelintenseemotions,andcultivatingthetherapists’ownpersonalsenseofaweandspirituality.
• Thedarksideofawe
Researchershavejuststartedtoscratchthesurfaceofapsychologicaldarksidetoawe,specificallyrelatedtoitstendencytodeemphasizetheselfandemphasizeone’sassociationwithagroup.ResearcherYangBaiandhercolleaguessuggestthatawe“mightpredictharmfulbehaviorsdirectedatoutgroups—outgroupbias,aggression,andevengenocidaltendencies.”Forinstance,theysuggestthatreligiousawemayinspirepeopletocarryoutsuicidebombings(Baietal.,2017)[2].
• HowcultureinfluencesaweexperiencesManyofthestudiesinthispaperwereperformedpredominantlyonso-calledWEIRD(Western,Educated,Industrialized,RichandDemocratic)populations,soitisuncleartowhatextentthesefindingswillextendtootherpopulations.Elucidatingthedifferencesandsimilaritiesoftheaweexperienceacrossculturesisaninterestingandimportantareaforfurtherstudy(Razavietal.,2016)[1].
• Theneuroscienceofawe
Littleisknownabouttheneurologicalmechanismsthatunderlietheaweexperience.Onesmallstudyfounddifferencesintwotypesofbrainwaves—thetaandbeta—betweenpeoplewhodidanddidnotexperienceawewhileinsimulatedspaceflight,suggestingthatpeoplewhoexperiencedawewerelessfatiguedordistractedandpaidmoreattentiontotheawe-inspiringimage(viewingEarthfromspace)(Reinerman-Jonesetal.,2013)[14].Additionally,therewerebrain-activitydifferencesbetweenwhenpeopleviewedamoreawe-inspiringstimulus(Earthfromspace)andalessawe-inspiringstimulus(simulateddeepspace),althoughthismaybedueatleastinparttodifferencesinthevisualcomplexityoftheimages.Inproducingthiswhitepaper,weuncoverednoevidencethatfunctionalmagneticresonanceimagingstudieshavebeenusedtoprobethebrainareasinvolvedintheexperienceofawe;thisisaresearcharearipeforfutureexploration.
• OpenquestionsManyquestionsremainopenconcerningtheaweexperienceitself.Theseincludebasicquestions,suchas:Whenitcomestothreateningstimuli,whatdetermineswhetheranindividualexperiencesawe,ratherthanexperiencinganxietyorsimplyignoringthestimulus(Shiotaetal.,2007)[265]?Andhowdoestheaweexperienceunfoldovertime(Piffetal.,2015)[133]?
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Ahostofotherbasicpsychologicalquestionsremaintobeexploredinrelationtoawe.Theseinclude:
• Developmentalquestions:Howdochildrenexperienceaweduringdevelopment?Whatroledoescultureorparentingplayinthisdevelopment?
• Experientialanddailysamplingquestions:Howoftendopeopletendtoexperienceaweintheirday-to-daylives?Aretheresomeexperiencesthatarelikelytoinducestrongaweinmostpeople?Moststudieshavefocusedonthevisualaspectsofawe,buthowdoothersensorymodalitiescontributetotheexperience?
• Basicmethodologicalquestions:Howdonaturalaweexperiencesvaryfromthoseinthelab?
• Interventionquestions:Canpeoplebetaughttoexperienceawemorefrequently?Additionally,advancesinVirtualRealitytechnologywillallowexperimenterstofurtherteaseaparttheessentialcomponentsofaweexperiences,determinewhichstimuliaremosteffectiveatelicitingawe,andprobethepsychologicalconsequencesofelicitingawe.It’sanexcitingtimeforthescienceofawe.Muchisknownbutevenmoreremainstobeexplored.Withincreasinginterestinthetopic,thefuturelooksbright—maybeevenawesome.
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VIII. ReferencesAnderson,C.L.,Monroy,M.,&Keltner,D.(2018).Aweinnatureheals:Evidencefrom
militaryveterans,at-riskyouth,andcollegestudents.Emotion.https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000442
Bai,Y.,Maruskin,L.A.,Chen,S.,Gordon,A.M.,Stellar,J.E.,McNeil,G.D.,…Keltner,D.J.(2017).Awe,thediminishedself,andcollectiveengagement:Universalsandculturalvariationsinthesmallself.JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology,113(2),185–209.https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000087
Benedek,M.,&Kaernbach,C.(2011).Physiologicalcorrelatesandemotionalspecificityofhumanpiloerection.BiologicalPsychology,86(3),320–329.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.12.012
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