In other experiments, we evoked feelings of awe in the lab, for example by having participants recall and write about a past experience of awe or watch a five-minute video of sublime scenes of nature. Participants experiencing awe, more so than those participants experiencing emotions like pride or amusement, cooperated more, shared more resources and sacrificed more for others — all of which are behaviors necessary for our collective life.

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Piff and Keltner go on to explain: Awe works because standing next to a big wondrous thing can make you feel so small, and rather than isolate you, that smallness connects you more to others. Recognizing that you don’t mean very much in the grand scheme is an important component of connectedness. It takes the individual out of the equation. “In the great balancing act of our social lives, between the gratification of self-interest and a concern for others,” they write, “fleeting experiences of awe redefine the self in terms of the collective, and orient our actions toward the needs of those around us.”

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The trouble is that we live in an increasingly awe-deprived state, the researchers warn. We spend less time outdoors and more time working, and art and culture have become background noise while we become more absorbed ever deeper into ourselves and our screens.

The above passages come from a great article in Jezebel which cites a New York Times piece written by psychologists Paul Piff and Dacher Keltner about the benevolent effects of experiencing awe.

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Image above: A photograph of Martian landscape from HiRise

Tags:aweethicspsychology