Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 11, 2026

The Emotional Stroop Task: Assessing Cognitive Performance under Exposure to Emotional Content
Published on: June 29, 2016
Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion
Dacher Keltner1, Jonathan Haidt2
1a University of California at Berkeley, USA.
Abstract:
In this paper we present a prototype approach to awe. We suggest that two appraisals are central and are present in all clear cases of awe: perceived vastness, and a need for accommodation, defined as an inability to assimilate an experience into current mental structures. Five additional appraisals account for variation in the hedonic tone of awe experiences: threat, beauty, exceptional ability, virtue, and the supernatural. We derive this perspective from a review of what has been written about awe in religion, philosophy, sociology, and psychology, and then we apply this perspective to an analysis of awe and related states such as admiration, elevation, and the epiphanic experience.
Related Concept Videos
Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development
Pre-Conventional Level
At the pre-conventional level, morality is primarily driven by personal...
Physiology of Emotion
Autonomic Nervous System
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a critical role in emotional responses by regulating involuntary physiological functions. It consists of two main components: the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. The sympathetic system...
Emotional Expression
Universal Facial Expressions
Psychologist Paul Ekman identified seven basic...
Labeling Emotion
Introduction to Motivation and Emotion
Role of Emotions in Social Life

