The present study attempts to explore the effect of awe on environmentalism and the mediating role of social dominance orientation in generating this effect. In Study 1, a series of questionnaires were used to investigate the correlation among trait awe, social dominance orientation, and ecological behavior. Results demonstrated that, while trait awe was positively correlated with ecological behavior, it was partially mediated by social dominance orientation. In follow-up studies, two priming experiments were conducted to test the causal relationship and the psychological mechanisms between awe and environmentalism. Results revealed that inductions of awe (relative to various control states) decreased participants’ social dominance orientation, which in turn partially enhanced their willingness to make personal sacrifices for the environment (Study 2), and intentions to engage in pro-environmental behavior (Study 3). This study not only corroborates the critical role of awe in promoting environmentalism, but also highlights the importance of social dominance orientation in explaining why awe increases environmentalism. Implications and future directions were also discussed.

Awe is an intense emotional response to perceptually vast stimuli that dramatically transcend one’s ordinary reference frame and provoke a need to adjust the current mental structures. Dispositional awe reflects individual differences in the tendency to experience awe. The current study aims to examine the effect of dispositional awe on subjective well-being, with a focus on confirming the mediating role of meaning in life and materialism. A sample of 563 Chinese adults completed measures of dispositional awe, meaning in life, materialism, and subjective well-being. Correlation analysis revealed that dispositional awe, meaning in life, and materialism were all significantly correlated with subjective well-being. Structural equation modeling showed significant paths from dispositional awe to subjective well-being through both meaning in life and materialism. Bootstrap analysis also indicated that meaning in life and materialism mediated the relationship between dispositional awe and subjective well-being. These findings not only corroborate the critical role of dispositional awe in promoting subjective well-being, but also shed some light on why people high in dispositional awe are happier than those low in dispositional awe. Limitations and directions for future research were also discussed.

This research aimed to examine the effects of negative metastereotypes (i.e., patients believe that doctors have negative opinions about them) and conflict experience on doctor-patient relationships. A 2 9 2 experimental study was conducted on 84 outpatients who were randomly assigned to either a negative metastereotype activation (NMSA) condition or a nonnegative metastereotype activation (non-NMSA) condition. Each group consisted of patients with and without conflict experience (CE). Intergroup anxiety and doctor-patient relationships were subsequently assessed. Results showed that NMSA and CE increased intergroup anxiety and undermined doctor-patient relationships. In addition, the interaction between NMSA and CE on doctor-patient relationships was significant. When negative metastereotypes were activated, patients with CE showed more unfavorable relationships with doctors as compared with those under non-NMSA activation condition; no metastereotype effects on doctor-patient relationships were observed among patients without CE. These findings provided insights into an important predictor of doctor-patient relationships as well as its mechanism. Future studies should consider negative metastereotypes and CE to develop interventions for improving doctor-patient relationships.

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Background: Information asymmetry is a widely studied economic phenomenon. It refers to the situation in which one group in a transaction has more information than the other. Nowadays, information asymmetry has been studied not only as a financial topic but also as a potential reason for essential social problems. Objective: To take Chinese doctor–patient relationship as an example and investigate the relationship among information asymmetry, trust level, and aggression behavior using an experimental design. Methods: A total of 44 undergraduates (information asymmetry group, N = 22, 5 males, 17 females, mean age = 18.95, SD = 0.18; information symmetry group, N = 22, 7 males, 15 females, mean age = 19.27, SD = 0.18) took part in our experiment. Different slides and guidance were used to create a virtual information asymmetry situation, and we use the Wake Forest Physician Trust Scale (WFPTS) and the hot sauce allocation paradigm to measure their trust level and aggression, respectively. Results: Participants in the information asymmetry group allocated significantly more hot sauce to the doctor ( p <.005, d = 1.09) and displayed significantly lower trust level ( p < 0.05, d = −0.78) than the control group. Patients' trust level had a significant mediating effect (95% confidence interval [−1.39, –0.05]). Conclusion: Asymmetric information may arouse patients' aggression and lower their trust in doctors. Patients' trust level is also a significant partial mediator between their aggression and information asymmetry. The current study reinforces the urgent need for information openness in the Chinese medical system.