Understanding AWE: Can a Virtual Journey, Inspired by the Overview Effect, Lead to an Increased Sense of Interconnectedness?

A Review on Research and Evaluation Methods for Investigating Self-Transcendence

“…However, the interviewer needs to be highly trained in the interviewing technique to ensure reliability. Microphenomenology has been used to study awe (Quesnel et al, 2018 ; Stepanova et al, 2019 ), meditative experiences (Petitmengin et al, 2017 ; Prpa et al, 2018 ; Przyrembel and Singer, 2018 ), and altered states of consciousness caused by DMT—a fast-acting tryptamine psychedelic (Timmermann et al, 2019 ). Both phenomenology and microphenomenology can be useful in describing self-transcendence, but which one you use depends on if you want to study the experience generally and across life times (phenomenology), or if you want to look at one specific experience in great detail (microphenomenology).…”

“…For example, the cued-recall debrief method has been used to assess real-time emotions (Bruun and Ahm, 2015 ; Bruun et al, 2016 ), affective responses (Bentley et al, 2005 ), and decision making (Omodei and McLennan, 1994 ). While this method seems promising in assessing states of self-transcendence in real-time, only a few studies have actually managed to implement this measure for self-transcendence specifically (Quesnel et al, 2018 ; Stepanova et al, 2019 ).…”

Creating Ambassadors of Planet Earth: The Overview Effect in K12 Education

“…It opens doors to use this simulation for future research on the same topic, and it confirms that the visuals were sufficiently vast and beautiful and the audio was sufficiently supportive to create a feeling of awe in the participants. Within the simulation, a personal connection is made by focusing briefly on the participants’ own country, which supposedly adds to the effect ( Stepanova et al, 2019b ). Even though Stepanova et al (2019a) advised that Earth-gazing is done from three different perspectives, the two that were used (from the spacecraft and from the moon, respectively) were sufficient.…”

“…The overview effect can also give rise to an increased understanding of how life interconnects, a renewed motivation to protect the planet’s environment, and a feeling of kinship with people across the globe ( Ihle et al, 2006 ) as well as a strong feeling of compassion toward others. Meanwhile, recognizing familiar locations on Earth from outside its orbit strengthens the feeling of personal connection ( Stepanova et al, 2019b ). Experiencing the overview effect leads to a lasting increase in the appreciation and the concern for planet Earth and a connection with humanity.…”

“…However, it should be noted that, although VR simulations have been reported to motivate and interest students and increase their performance in some studies ( Alhalabi, 2016 ; de Back et al, 2018 ), other studies did not confirm these findings ( Parong and Mayer, 2018 ). Since presence increases the feeling of actually being in a situation, such as viewing the Earth from space, we would expect presence to influence the overview effect ( Stepanova et al, 2019b ). Similar to presence, immersive tendencies refer to an individual’s likelihood to experience presence ( Witmer and Singer, 1998 ).…”