Seeing Awe: How Children Perceive Awe-Inspiring Visual Experiences

Abstract

Humans may have evolved to appreciate awe-inspiring experiences. To shed light on its origin, four studies (three preregistered) examined 4-9-year-old children’s (N = 301) perceptions of awe-inspiring experiences. Children recognized vast nature as an elicitor of awe facial expression and reported mixed emotions in response to awe experiences (Study 1). Both positive (Study 2) and threatening (Study 3) awe experiences were more likely than neutral experiences to promote perceived vastness, motivation to explore, and awareness of unknown things. Compared to crowd experiences, awe experiences elicited more of these effects and positively affected children’s sense of self (Study 4). These findings suggest that awe experiences are appreciated early in life, shedding light on the origin and nature of this important self-transcendent experience.

Observing prosociality and talent: the emotional characteristics and behavioral outcomes of elevation and admiration in 6.5- to 8-year-old children

“…Hence, the current study was conducted with older children (i.e., 6.5-to 8.5-year-olds) so that we could implement a self-report measure of children's emotional experiences and thus, bridge the gap between existing elevation work with preschool aged children (Hepach & Tomasello, 2020) and adults (e.g., Algoe & Haidt, 2009). Furthermore, developmental work around other-praising emotions (e.g., awe, respect) suggests that emotions of such complexity emerge during middle childhood, providing a justification for the middle childhood age range (Malti et al, 2020;O'bi & Yang, 2024;Vaish & Savell, 2022).…”

“…Another possible explanation for why admiration and elevation elicit similar prosocial motivations is that admiration is like awe which has been shown to promote prosocial behavior (O'bi et al, 2024;Stamkou et al, 2023). Both admiration and awe arise when seeing someone excellent with the difference that admiration likely leads to a desire to also excel at a task whereas a person experiencing awe likely feels that the excellence is beyond themselves (Keltner & Haidt, 2003;Shiota et al, 2017).…”