Hostname: page-component-77f85d65b8-lfk5g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-03-29T20:14:12.394Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Imaginary worlds are awesome: Awe provides a key to understanding the individual and social functions of imaginary worlds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 November 2022

Sean P. Goldy Open the ORCID record for Sean P. Goldy [Opens in a new window]  and
Paul K. Piff Open the ORCID record for Paul K. Piff [Opens in a new window]
Sean P. Goldy
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-7085, USA sgoldy@uci.edu ppiff@uci.edu https://paulpiff.wixsite.com/meshlab
Paul K. Piff
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-7085, USA sgoldy@uci.edu ppiff@uci.edu https://paulpiff.wixsite.com/meshlab
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Awe arises when one experiences something so extraordinary that it defies current understanding, prompting efforts to comprehend the initially incomprehensible. We situate awe within Dubourg and Baumard's framework for the prevalence and psychological underpinnings of imaginary worlds. We argue that imaginary worlds are powerful catalysts of awe, which, in turn, drive important individual and social outcomes.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 45 , 2022 , e284
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Anderson, C. L., Dixson, D. D., Monroy, M., & Keltner, D. (2020). Are awe-prone people more curious? The relationship between dispositional awe, curiosity, and academic outcomes. Journal of Personality, 88(4), 762–779. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12524.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bai, Y., Maruskin, L. A., Chen, S., Gordon, A. M., Stellar, J. E., McNeil, G. D., … Keltner, D. (2017). Awe, the diminished self, and collective engagement: Universals and cultural variations in the small self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 113(2), 185–209. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000087.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bai, Y., Ocampo, J., Jin, G., Chen, S., Benet-Martinez, V., Monroy, M., … Keltner, D. (2021). Awe, daily stress, and elevated life satisfaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 120(4), 837–860. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000267.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berger, J., & Milkman, K. L. (2012). What makes online content viral? Journal of Marketing Research, 49(2), 192–205. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.10.0353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldy, S. P., & Piff, P. K. (2020). Toward a social ecology of prosociality: Why, when, and where nature enhances social connection. Current Opinion in Psychology, 32, 27–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.06.016.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joye, Y., Bolderdijk, J. W., Köster, M. A. F., & Piff, P. K. (2020). A diminishment of desire: Exposure to nature relative to urban environments dampens materialism. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 54, 126783. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2020.126783.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keltner, D., & Haidt, J. (2003). Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion. Cognition and Emotion, 17(2), 297–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930302297.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McPhetres, J. (2019). Oh, the things you don't know: Awe promotes awareness of knowledge gaps and science interest. Cognition and Emotion, 33(8), 1599–1615. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2019.1585331.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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(6), 883–899. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000018.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oatley, K. (1999). Why fiction may be twice as true as fact: Fiction as cognitive and emotional simulation. Review of General Psychology, 3(2), 101–117. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.3.2.101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930600923668.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stellar, J. E., Gordon, A., Anderson, C. L., Piff, P. K., McNeil, G. D., & Keltner, D. (2018). Awe and humility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114(2), 258–269. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000109.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stellar, J. E., Gordon, A. M., Piff, P. K., Cordaro, D., Anderson, C. L., Bai, Y., … Keltner, D. (2017). Self-transcendent emotions and their social functions: Compassion, gratitude, and awe bind us to others through prosociality. Emotion Review, 9(3), 200–207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1754073916684557.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Valdesolo, P. (2021). Stop making sense? Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1501(1), 75–77. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14570.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Valdesolo, P., Shtulman, A., & Baron, A. S. (2017). Science is awe-some: The emotional antecedents of science learning. Emotion Review, 9(3), 215–221. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073916673212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, J. W., Piff, P. K., Iyer, R., Koleva, S., & Keltner, D. (2014). An occasion for unselfing: Beautiful nature leads to prosociality. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 37, 61–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2013.11.008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar