Why dispositional awe promotes psychosocial flourishing? An investigation of intrapersonal and interpersonal pathways among Chinese emerging adults

Abstract

Promoting the psychosocial flourishing of emerging adults is crucially important. The tendency to feel awe, as captured by dispositional awe, may be a protective factor that promotes psychosocial flourishing. Inspired by the broaden-and-build theory, the present study sought to investigate the underexplored relationship between dispositional awe and psychosocial flourishing among emerging adults by establishing a dual-mediated model, which focuses on an intrapersonal mechanism of meaning in life and an interpersonal mechanism of social connectedness. Data were collected from a cross-sectional sample of 1213 Chinese emerging adults who completed a series of anonymous questionnaires regarding dispositional awe, psychosocial flourishing, meaning in life, and social connectedness. Results of the correlation analysis revealed positive and significant associations among dispositional awe, meaning in life, social connectedness, and psychosocial flourishing. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that meaning in life and social connectedness fully mediated the association between dispositional awe and psychosocial flourishing. The mediation effect of meaning in life was stronger than that of social connectedness. These findings contributes to the science of flourishing by identifying the internal mechanisms of why dispositional awe promotes the psychosocial flourishing of emerging adults.

Meaning in Life and Materialism as Mediators of the Relationship Between Dispositional Awe and Tourist Eudaimonic Well-Being

“…The significant, positive indirect effect of dispositional awe on tourist eudaimonic well-being through meaning in life stems from the following results: dispositional awe has a positive impact on the importance of life (Table 2) and meaning in life has a positive effect on tourist eudaimonic well-being (Table 2). Both results were verified in numerous previous studies, but only regarding general well-being (e.g., Zhao & Zhang, 2023;Seaton & Beaumont, 2015;Steger, 2012) and usually the state-based experience of awe. For instance, several studies by Laura King have systematically linked meaning in life with positive state affect in general (e.g., Halusic & King, 2013;King et al, 2006).…”

Vitality Revisited: The Evolving Concept of Flourishing and Its Relevance to Personal and Public Health

“…The long list of personality and behavioral factors mediating the associations between flourishing and health-related outcomes—ranging from dispositional awe to parenting styles—will undoubtedly grow [ 152 , 153 ]. At this point, a better understanding of the biopsychosocial factors that facilitate flourishing across cultures is imperative, including how to actively promote these.…”

Enhancing resilience: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of The Awe Project

“…Lastly, experiencing awe can also impact a person's behaviour, as it is considered a self-transcendent experience (Chirico & Yaden, 2018;Jiang & Sedikides, 2021), meaning one that involves looking beyond oneself and taking a larger perspective that includes concern and care for others (APA, n.d.;Yaden et al, 2016). The prosocial behaviours associated with experiencing awe include altruism, compassion, generosity, kindness, and concern for others and the environment (Nelson-Coffey et al, 2019;Piff et al, 2015;Rudd et al, 2012;Yang et al, 2016, Yang et al, 2018Zhao et al, 2018;Zhao et al, 2022).…”