University of Missouri, Columbia, USA.
Montana State University, Bozeman, USA.
Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2024 May;50(5):715-732. doi: 10.1177/01461672221144597. Epub 2023 Jan 11.
We propose that awe has multifaceted relations with existential isolation, a feeling of separation between the self and others or the world. Three studies examined the relation between awe and existential isolation via feelings of small self (vastness, self-size, self-perspectives) and a sense of connectedness. Awe (vs. a control topic) was induced either using virtual reality (Study 1) or a recall task (Studies 2 and 3) and was indirectly associated with higher and lower levels of existential isolation through differing pathways. Awe was associated with feelings of existential isolation via an increased sense of vastness, which in turn predicted greater connectedness; whereas awe was associated with feelings of existential isolation via increased sense of feeling small, which in turn predicted lower connectedness. This work advances understanding of the complex nature of awe-revealing its competing effects on the self and the social connectedness pathways through which awe can influence existential isolation.
我们提出，敬畏与存在隔离感（自我与他人或世界之间的分离感）具有多方面的关系。三项研究通过小自我（广阔感、自我大小感、自我视角感）和联系感来检验敬畏与存在隔离感之间的关系。通过虚拟现实（研究 1）或回忆任务（研究 2 和 3）诱发敬畏（与对照主题相比），并通过不同的途径间接与更高和更低水平的存在隔离感相关联。敬畏感通过增强的广阔感与存在隔离感相关联，进而预测更大的联系感；而敬畏感通过增强的渺小感与存在隔离感相关联，进而预测更低的联系感。这项工作增进了对敬畏感复杂性的理解——揭示了它对自我的竞争影响，以及敬畏感影响存在隔离感的社会联系途径。
