Awe promotes moral expansiveness via the small-self

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Moral Psychology

Background:

• Awe is an emotion that challenges self-perception and connects individuals to something greater.
• Existing research suggests awe influences self-concept and worldview.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if the emotion of awe promotes "moral expansiveness."
• To determine if awe increases moral concern for a wider range of entities.
• To explore the psychological mechanisms linking awe to moral expansiveness.

Main Methods:

• Five studies (N=990) were conducted, including cross-sectional and experimental designs.
• Methods involved measuring dispositional awe, inducing awe via videos and virtual reality, and assessing moral expansiveness.
• Statistical analyses examined direct and indirect effects, including mediation by the "small-self" sense of vastness.

Main Results:

• Dispositional awe positively correlated with moral expansiveness in cross-sectional studies.
• Experimental induction of awe led to increased moral expansiveness, indirectly through self-reported awe and the small-self sense of vastness.
• Virtual reality-induced awe directly increased moral expansiveness, fully mediated by the small-self sense of vastness.

Conclusions:

• Awe broadens an individual's sense of connectedness to the wider world.
• This expanded connectedness, particularly the "small-self" experience, increases the scope of moral concern.
• Awe has the potential to foster greater ethical consideration across diverse entities and the environment.