title: Awe, the small self, and prosocial behavior.
abstract: Awe is an emotional response to perceptually vast stimuli that transcend current frames of reference. Guided by conceptual analyses of awe as a collective emotion, across 5 studies (N = 2,078) we tested the hypothesis that awe can result in a diminishment of the individual self and its concerns, and increase prosocial behavior. In a representative national sample (Study 1), dispositional tendencies to experience awe predicted greater generosity in an economic game above and beyond other prosocial emotions (e.g., compassion). In follow-up experiments, inductions of awe (relative to various control states) increased ethical decision-making (Study 2), generosity (Study 3), and prosocial values (Study 4). Finally, a naturalistic induction of awe in which participants stood in a grove of towering trees enhanced prosocial helping behavior and decreased entitlement compared to participants in a control condition (Study 5). Mediational data demonstrate that the effects of awe on prosociality are explained, in part, by feelings of a small self. These findings indicate that awe may help situate individuals within broader social contexts and enhance collective concern.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine.
authors.forename: Paul K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Piff
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, New York University.
authors.forename: Pia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dietze
authors.affiliation: Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Feinberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley.
authors.forename: Daniel M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Stancato
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley.
authors.forename: Dacher
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Keltner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004644:Emotions; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D005717:Games, Experimental; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012649:Self Concept; D012919:Social Behavior; D012941:Social Responsibility; D055815:Young Adult