Development and Validation of a Dispositional Awe Scale for Mongolians in a Nomadic Cultural Context

Awe is a universal emotion, yet its conceptualization and measurement in nomadic cultural contexts remain largely underexplored. To address this gap, we developed and validated the Dispositional Awe Scale for Mongolians (DAS-M) within a nomadic cultural framework from a socio-ecological psychology perspective. Using a mixed-methods approach-including focus group interviews, ethnographic fieldwork, and exploratory/confirmatory factor analyses-we examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of DAS-M. Results demonstrated a first-order five-factor structure comprising 18 items: Deference to Sacred Authority, Divine Guardianship, Bio-reverence, Transcendent Becoming, and Harmonization with Natural Order. DAS-M exhibits sound measurement qualities and satisfactory model fit. The scale captures both the universal core of awe and culturally specific features of nomadic Mongolian culture, thus providing a reliable measurement tool for future research on awe in nomadic contexts.