1. Inspired by awe: Awe promotes inspiration via self-transcendence.
- Author
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Dai, Yuwan and Jiang, Tonglin
- Subjects
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TRANSCENDENCE (Philosophy) , *TASK performance , *RESEARCH funding , *EVALUATION of human services programs , *STATISTICAL sampling , *POSITIVE psychology , *EMOTIONS , *RANDOMIZED controlled trials , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *MOTIVATION (Psychology) , *STORYTELLING , *CONFIDENCE intervals , *FACTOR analysis , *SELF-perception , *VIDEO recording - Abstract
Whether and how awe impacts inspiration lacks sufficient empirical research. We conducted five studies (N = 941) to examine the awe – inspiration link and the mediating effect of self-transcendence. We found that awe promoted inspiration, which was indexed by an actual behavior indicator, others' ratings (Study 1), and multiple self-reported scales (Studies 2–4). Self-transcendence mediated this effect (Studies 3–4). The effect of awe on inspiration and the mediating effect of self-transcendence were established when comparing awe with a general positive emotion (i.e., amusement in Study 2a and happiness in Study 2b) and nature (Study 4), having emotions controlled for (Studies 2–4), and inducing awe with a threatening experience (Study 4). Taken together, awe exerted a unique effect on inspiration, and self-transcendence mediated this effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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