A microscopic dot on a microscopic dot: Self-esteem buffers the negative effects of exposure to the enormity of the universe

Hornsey, Matthew J.; Faulkner, Callum; Crimston, Charlie R.; Moreton, Sam G

doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2018.02.009

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Notably, however, the reverse may also be true: Self-transcendent feelings elicited by awe experiences may lead to greater feelings of connectedness. Consistent with this reasoning, prior research has shown that awe experiences (e.g., seeing the earth from space) promote feelings of connectedness via self-transcendence [18, 19]; that is, awe experiences bring about feelings of awe and other self-transcendent emotions, which in turn promote greater feelings of connectedness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…Finally, experiential methodologies provide participants with specific experiences that would evoke awe, such as viewing an expansive T-Rex skeleton [13], viewing the surrounding area from the top of a bell tower [6], or visiting a grove of tall trees [2]. Across induction procedures, images of the universe, planet Earth, stars, or outer space are quite common: 51% of 35 experiments relied on such images to induce feelings of awe [2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The proximal experience of awe

et al. 2019

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Research on awe has grown exponentially in recent decades; however, few studies have considered whether awe-inspiring experiences also inspire other emotions. In two studies, we explored whether interventions targeting awe also evoke other discrete emotions. Additionally, we considered two constructs that may be associated with increases in each emotion—self-relevant thoughts and connectedness. In Study 1, we manipulated awe in virtual reality and examined the potential effects of a prototypical awe experience—a spacewalk accompanied by an audio clip of Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot . In Study 2, we manipulated awe with a video depicting scenes of Earth from outer space paired with the same audio clip. Across both studies, a prototypical awe experience was associated not only with awe, but with compassion, gratitude, love, and optimism, along with connectedness and self-relevant thoughts. Furthermore, we found that increases in self-relevant thoughts and connectedness in response to the awe induction predicted increases in each emotion evoked and vice-versa. These findings suggest that experiences that are commonly considered awe-inspiring—such as viewing a picturesque landscape—may be more appropriately conceptualized more broadly as self-transcendent. More work is needed to determine whether the documented benefits of awe may be more appropriately interpreted as the benefits of self-transcendent emotions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The proximal experience of awe

et al. 2019

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“…Specifically, we retested H2 with a video-based manipulation, a common awe induction (Algoe & Haidt, 2009; Piff et al, 2015; Prade & Saroglou, 2016; Van Cappellen & Saroglou, 2012). We used a video in which the earth was viewed from space (Hornsey et al, 2018; Nelson-Coffey et al, 2019; Yaden et al, 2016).…”

Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Awe motivates authentic-self pursuit via self-transcendence: Implications for prosociality.

Jiang¹,

Sedikides

2022

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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We propose that the emotion of awe (i.e., challenge that exceeds the scope of one's mental structures, requiring cognitive accommodation) awakens self-transcendence (i.e., reaching beyond one's self-boundary), which in turn invigorates pursuit of the authentic self (i.e., alignment with one's true self). This process has implications for prosociality. We supported our theoretical model in 14 studies (N = 4,438) using distinct awe manipulations or measures, employing different assessments of authentic-self pursuit, testing participants both in laboratory and field settings, and involving samples from both collectivistic and individualistic cultures. In Studies 1-2 (N = 828), dispositional awe was positively associated with authentic-self pursuit and induced awe motivated authentic-self pursuit. In Studies 2-9 (N = 2,461), dispositional awe was positively associated with, and induced awe strengthened, authentic-self pursuit via self-transcendence. These effects were independent of pride and happiness. In Study 10 (N = 281), selfsmallness (i.e., a sense of self as small and insignificant), albeit induced by awe, did not account for the unique effects of awe on authentic-self pursuit via self-transcendence. Finally, in Studies 11-14 (N = 868), awe-induced authentic-self pursuit was linked with higher general prosociality, but lower inauthentic prosociality. The findings invite a reexamination of awe's relation with the self, while highlighting the complexity and intricacy of that relation.

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“…First, given that the awe manipulations that produced findings most consistent with our model were images of earth's natural landscapes, our final study featured a cosmos‐based induction of awe. Exposure to images of the universe is linked to greater awe, happiness, and small‐self feelings compared to neutral controls (Hornsey, Faulkner, Crimston, & Moreton, ; Stellar et al., ), and more awe, positive affect, and small‐self feelings compared to an awe‐eliciting video of lava flows (Hornsey et al., ). The inclusion of this awe elicitor allowed us to test our model with a positive awe induction distinct from the awe‐nature video used in previous studies.…”

Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Awe and meaning: Elucidating complex effects of awe experiences on meaning in life

Rivera

Vess

Hicks

et al. 2019

Euro J Social Psych

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Research on the experience of awe suggests that awe has positive impacts on outcomes like life satisfaction and belongingness. No published work, however, has reported effects of awe on the experience of meaning in life. We reasoned that awe might have complicated effects on meaning. On the one hand, many awe experiences likely contain a positive flavor that contributes to both awe and general positive affectivity (happiness). Positive affectivity has a robust positive effect on meaning in life, suggesting that positive awe experiences might increase meaning. At the same time, however, awe experiences lead to a diminished self that reflects feelings of smallness and insignificance, which might negatively predict meaning. We thus hypothesized that awe experiences can, in some contexts, produce competing indirect effects on judgments of meaning in life through happiness and small‐self feelings. The results of five studies (N = 1,690) supported these predictions.

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A microscopic dot on a microscopic dot: Self-esteem buffers the negative effects of exposure to the enormity of the universe

Cited by 13 publications

References 32 publications

The proximal experience of awe

The proximal experience of awe

Awe motivates authentic-self pursuit via self-transcendence: Implications for prosociality.

Awe and meaning: Elucidating complex effects of awe experiences on meaning in life

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