I recently went to see my family in New York. We stayed in a house a stone’s throw from the Atlantic Ocean. On my last day, I rose early and sauntered to the beach with a cup of coffee in hand. It had rained the night before as I followed a soggy path to the water’s edge. Seagulls were sailing above me, out for their breakfast. Then, as the waves crested ashore along the beach, a dolphin shot out of the water 200 yards from me.
I froze momentarily, entranced by the sight.
A few days earlier, I was playing with my nieces — 4 & 6 years old. I shared some magic tricks that had worn out their welcome in our household. I was eager to try them out on a fresh audience. As a coin “disappeared” into my forearm, my younger niece looked wide-eyed — her eyes broadcasting wonder and amazement.
When I was done. Her older sister looked at me quizzically, “I saw your trick on YouTube.” Without hesitating, she pointed to the coin tucked under my shirt collar, “it’s right there!”
In April, I met with two psychology researchers at a conference who were presenting their latest work on awe. They shared survey results from museum patrons who were exposed to a mix of visuals, music, and storytelling in the museum’s planetarium. The purpose of their study was to understand how to elicit awe in museum-goers to see if they could boost their curiosity and interest in science.
Reflecting on this conversation & my recent experiences on the beach and with my nieces, I wondered how I could elicit more of this fleeting, but powerful emotion in my own life.
Inside Out
When his phone rang, Dacher Keltner, a social scientist & author, was surprised to get a call from Pete Docter.
Docter is a renowned Pixar director & animator who created hit films such as Monsters Inc and Up. He told Keltner he wanted to make a movie about how our emotions can shape our inside and outside lives.
Docter had learned of Keltner’s work helping Facebook design stickers and reactions on the social media site. He wanted an emotions expert onboard to help his team make a movie exploring this complex and nuanced topic.
At Pixar, Keltner found himself rubbing elbows with stars such as Bill Hader, Mindy Kalin & Amy Poehler. He ended up serving as a scientist “on tap” for a few years, delivering lectures and sharing research on emotions such as — disgust, pride, happiness, and awe. Pixar’s animators soaked it up, learning how to represent emotions in characters portrayed in the film.
It seemed to work.
Inside Out earned $858.8 million worldwide. It was nominated for two academy awards and a sequel, Inside Out 2, will be released in June 2024.
Keltner’s research on awe also reached new audiences — gaining currency with several books published on the topic over the past few years - In Awe (2020), The Awe Factor (2020), Awestruck (2020), and Keltner’s book, Awe: the new science of everyday wonder and how it can transform your life (2023).
How is awe defined?
Awe has been described in two ways that are related:
An experience of vastness in physical space, in time, in number, or ability. Vastness applies to how we experience an ocean or mountain range but also refers to a person’s influence on others. Awe can also refer to experiences that elicit fear or shock us.
Accommodating an unfamiliar or atypical experience into our ideas about the world. Researcher Dr. Paul Persall coined the term “openture” to capture this idea — awe elicits an emotion that defies our current frame of reference. For this reason, it is often associated with religious or spiritual experiences which people describe as sublime or transcendent.
Awe can also make us feel “small” in the presence of something greater than ourselves. For example, when people report getting “lost” in communal events such as concerts, rallies, or parades.
Unlike happiness or joy, awe is not dependent on a reward, personal success, or pleasurable social experience. Awe is ephemeral and unpredictable. And, as Keltner shares in his latest book, awe can be depleted by traumatic experiences such as the death of a loved one.
“I felt aweless” recounted Keltner after he lost his brother. “I knew I needed to find awe again in my life.”
A minute of awe
Ninety college students were invited to participate in a study on a university campus. They were asked to meet a researcher at a spot on campus at 9 a.m. After greeting the students, the researchers explained the students were part of a study exploring visual perception.
Next, half the students (randomly assigned) were escorted to a eucalyptus grove and the other half to an adjacent building. Each group was asked to look up for 1 minute and then take a short survey reporting on how much amusement, anger, awe, and happiness they had felt using single items (1 = not at all, 7 = extremely).
Interestingly, amusement, disgust, and sadness did not vary by condition. Awe was the only emotion found to be significantly different between the two groups.
Next, the researchers approached the students in each group with pens and paper and dropped them - ostensibly by accident. The students in the awe condition picked up more pens and papers than their peers.
Finally, the researchers asked the students to complete measures of psychological entitlement. Students were asked to select sets of circles to represent how they saw themselves in relation to others — those in the awe condition chose smaller circles to represent themselves compared to the control condition.
These are simple experiments on a small sample, but similar findings are revealing a relationship between awe and its relation to altruism, humility, empathy, and other prosocial behaviors.
This also may explain why the researchers I met at the conference were interested in eliciting awe in museum-goers and why Keltner’s scholarship appealed to Pixar.
Awe in childhood
My own children, 8, 11, and 13 are still kids but are increasingly exposed to a world bombarding them with adult ideas, issues, and concerns. Walker Isaacson shared an idea in his biography of Albert Einstein that awe may be particularly important during childhood. Awe has been found to enhance children’s curiosity and learning. For example, in one study, children who watched awe-eliciting video clips were more likely to spend their time on an effortful task
I do wonder about how digital and virtual experiences are shaping how my children experience awe in their lives. Especially as arts, music, and science education seem more scarce in their schools. The TV shows and reels they view online seem far more focused on entertaining them versus eliciting awe or wonder.
Interestingly, our understanding of awe in children remains largely uncharted, even with the rise of studies of awe in adults over the past 20 years.
As children are developing their knowledge of the world, it is safe to say they are encountering stuff that seems vast in relation to themselves and transcends their previous knowledge—two critical ingredients of awe. And yet, in our fast-paced & hyper-connected world, I am concerned that children today may not be afforded as many opportunities as prior generations to pause, ponder, and wonder.
A few ideas I’m trying out…when I can’t find a dolphin
Here are a few ideas I am testing out to invite more awe into my life.
Learn and share a magic trick: Magic can create questions for children that are not easily solved or explained. Here’s a TED talk by Jason Latimer that I recommend. Latimer has dedicated himself to using magic to engage audiences in science. (I definitely have room to improve on this one based on my older niece’s reaction to my magic trick).
Cultivate or seek out “collective effervescence”: A term Keltner used to describe the benefits of drawing on ancient sources of awe found in dance, theater, or rituals that we experience through the lens of “us” vs “me”.
Revisit a memory or tell a story: My dad recently told me a story about a near-death experience he had getting pulled out to sea by a riptide during a visit decades ago to Hawaii. I had never heard the story before and it immediately elicited awe. Also, podcasts like this episode on cross-species communication on WNYCs Radiolab have definitely elicited awe in me through creative storytelling.
Leave your phone at home. No elaboration needed.
Music: A few years ago I took my daughter to New Orleans. Among the music experiences that elicited awe, we were both impressed by Haruka Kikuchi, a Japanese woman who plays trombone with the Preservation Hall Jazz band. Her effortless virtuosity (musical “chops”) silenced the room. I’m always searching for new sources of live or recorded music.
Spend time outside: Exposure to the great outdoors or just what you find outside your front door. A minute may make a difference.
Your turn 😃
If reading this post prompted thoughts or questions, please share them below.
Also, consider sharing a photo or experience that was awe-inspiring for you or children you may know. I would like to share examples in a future post.
Email me at eoinbastable@gmail.com. I’d love HIPS to be a place to exchange and share ideas & stories with others. Thanks to readers or listeners who have already shared comments on prior posts!
Until next time, stay curious & thanks so much for supporting HIPS.
References:
Keltner, D. (2023). Awe: the new science of everyday wonder and how it can transform your life. National Geographic Books.
Keltner, D., & Haidt, J. (2003). Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion. Cognition and emotion, 17(2), 297-314.
Pérez, K. A., Lench, H. C., Thompson, C. G., & North, S. (2023). Experimental elicitations of awe: a meta-analysis. Cognition and Emotion, 37, 18-33.
Piff, P. K., Dietze, P., Feinberg, M., Stancato, D. M., & Keltner, D. (2015). Awe, the small self, and prosocial behavior. Journal of personality and social psychology, 108, 883.
Shiota, M. N., Keltner, D., & Mossman, A. (2007). The nature of awe: Elicitors, appraisals, and effects on self-concept. Cognition and emotion, 21(5), 944-963.
Stamkou, E., Brummelman, E., Dunham, R., Nikolic, M., & Keltner, D. (2023). Awe sparks prosociality in children. Psychological science, 34(4), 455-467.