The Psychology of Awe — How Vastness Shrinks the Self and Lifts Us
The evidence
What the research actually shows
The modern study of awe began with Keltner and Haidt's influential paper (2003), which defined awe as the emotional response to perceived vastness — something so large in scale, beauty or power that it does not fit our existing mental frameworks — combined with a need for 'accommodation,' meaning we have to adjust how we see the world to make sense of it. Vastness can be physical, like a canyon, or conceptual, like a profound idea or a display of remarkable virtue.
Awe appears to make people behave better toward others. In a series of studies, Piff and colleagues (2015, JPSP) found that experiencing awe — whether standing in a grove of towering trees, watching awe-inspiring nature footage, or recalling an awe experience — increased ethical behavior, generosity and helping, and reduced entitlement. They argued the link runs through the 'small self': awe momentarily shrinks the ego and shifts attention away from personal concerns toward the collective.
Awe may also change how we experience time and life. Rudd, Vohs and Aaker (2012) reported that awe expanded people's perception of available time, made them feel less impatient, more willing to volunteer their time to help others, and reported greater life satisfaction, compared with control conditions or other positive emotions like general happiness. Some studies in this area, such as work by Stellar and colleagues, have also linked positive emotions including awe to lower levels of pro-inflammatory markers, though this physiological research is more preliminary and should be read cautiously.
Awe momentarily shrinks the self, and with less 'me' crowding the picture, there is more room for wonder, patience and generosity.
The mechanism
Why this happens
The 'small self' is the central mechanism. When we encounter something vast, our own worries, status and self-image temporarily shrink in proportion, and attention turns outward. This diminished self-focus seems to loosen the grip of everyday rumination and self-interest, which is one reason awe is associated both with feeling calmer and with acting more generously — there is simply less 'me' crowding the picture.
Awe also does cognitive work by forcing accommodation. Because awe-inspiring things do not fit our existing categories, they nudge the mind to update and expand its models of the world, which can produce a pleasurable sense of expanded perspective and curiosity. This is part of why awe often carries a feeling of being pleasantly overwhelmed and of the ordinary suddenly looking different afterward.
There are likely functional reasons awe evolved as a distinct emotion. Feeling small before something larger — nature, a group, the sacred, a great achievement — may have helped bind people into cooperative collectives and orient them toward shared concerns beyond immediate self-interest. Its prosocial and humbling effects fit the idea that awe is, in part, a social emotion that turns attention from the self toward something bigger.
In practice
What this looks like in real life
Standing at the rim of a vast landscape or under a sky thick with stars, people often report their day-to-day problems suddenly feeling smaller and less urgent — not solved, but placed in a wider perspective. That shift from being absorbed in personal concerns to feeling part of something larger is the 'small self' in ordinary life.
Awe is not only found in grand nature. A piece of music that gives you chills, a cathedral or old forest, a scientific idea that reframes your sense of scale, watching a child learn something for the first time, or witnessing a stranger's remarkable kindness can all evoke it. Many of the most accessible sources of awe are free and close to home.
The after-effects show up in behavior. People often describe feeling more patient, more generous, and less rushed after an awe experience, and more inclined to reach out or help — consistent with research findings that awe expands perceived time and nudges people toward the collective rather than the self.
By the numbers
Figures come from the studies cited at the end of this page. Numbers describe group averages and study samples, not rules about individuals.
Myth vs. evidence
What most people get wrong about this
One misconception is that awe requires spectacular, expensive experiences — exotic travel, dramatic vistas, once-in-a-lifetime events. Research suggests the opposite is more useful: awe is a capacity that can be cultivated in everyday life through attention and openness, and deliberately seeking small, local sources of wonder appears to yield much of the benefit. 'Awe walks,' where people simply pay fresh attention to their surroundings, have been studied as a low-cost practice.
Another error is assuming awe is uniformly positive and gentle. Awe can also be tinged with fear or threat — a violent storm, overwhelming power, or the sublime edge of the vast — and this 'threat-based' awe does not always carry the same warm, prosocial glow. Awe is better understood as a family of related states than a single feel-good emotion, and the well-being findings apply most cleanly to its positive, non-threatening forms.
Why it matters
What this means for relationships
Because awe quiets self-focus and boosts generosity and patience, seeking it can indirectly benefit relationships. People who feel less absorbed in their own concerns and more oriented toward others tend to show up more warmly, and sharing awe-inspiring experiences with a partner — a view, a piece of music, a night sky — can create the kind of memorable, connecting moments that separate research links to closeness. Awe experienced together tends to be bonding.
On a personal level, building small doses of awe into life is a gentle, low-cost way to support well-being that complements other habits like gratitude and savoring. Making room for wonder — stepping outside, seeking beauty, staying curious about the vast — can soften rumination and restore a sense of perspective. It is not a cure for serious distress, and for that, support from others and professionals matters, but as an everyday practice awe is a genuinely useful ingredient of a fuller life.
Positive awe vs. threat-based awe
A side-by-side contrast to make the distinction concrete — patterns and tendencies, not rigid rules.
| Aspect | Positive awe | Threat-based awe |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Beauty, vastness, moral goodness | Overwhelming power, danger, the sublime edge |
| Emotional tone | Wonder, openness, calm | Wonder mixed with fear |
| Effect on others | More generous and prosocial | Less reliably prosocial |
| Well-being link | Supports patience and satisfaction | Benefits are less clear |
Where it varies
The nuance
The awe research is relatively young, much of it based on brief lab inductions and self-report over short timeframes, and some effects are modest or vary across studies. The prosocial and 'small self' findings have replicated reasonably well, while claims about physical health markers are more preliminary. Awe is a promising and well-motivated area, but its effects are best described as real tendencies rather than large, guaranteed transformations.
Individuals also differ in how readily they experience awe and in what triggers it — for some it is nature, for others music, ideas, spirituality or human excellence — and culture shapes both its sources and its meaning. There is little evidence of large, reliable sex differences in the capacity for awe; like most emotional capacities, it varies far more between individuals than between men and women on average.
Key takeaways
- Awe is the response to perceived vastness that stretches how we understand the world and requires us to adjust our mental models.
- It quiets self-focus (the 'small self'), which turns attention outward and can loosen rumination.
- Research links awe to greater generosity, patience, an expanded sense of time, and higher life satisfaction.
- You do not need spectacular travel — music, nature, ideas, and everyday 'awe walks' can all evoke it.
- Effects are real but generally modest, the field is young, and awe varies far more between individuals than between the sexes.
Questions people ask about this
What exactly is awe?
Researchers define awe as the emotional response to perceived vastness — something so large in scale, beauty or power that it stretches your usual understanding — combined with a need to mentally adjust to make sense of it. That vastness can be physical, like a canyon, or conceptual, like a profound idea or an act of moral beauty.
How does awe make us feel better?
Research suggests awe quiets self-focus (the 'small self'), which loosens rumination and turns attention outward. Studies link it to greater generosity, more patience, an expanded sense of available time, and higher life satisfaction. These are real tendencies, though generally modest in size.
Does awe really make people kinder?
Experimental studies suggest it can. Inducing awe has been found to increase ethical behavior, generosity and helping while reducing entitlement, apparently because awe shrinks the ego and shifts attention from personal concerns toward the collective. The effect is meaningful but not dramatic.
Do I need to travel somewhere spectacular to feel awe?
No. Awe is a capacity you can cultivate in everyday life. Music, a night sky, an old building, a scientific idea, a child's discovery, or a stranger's kindness can all evoke it. Research on 'awe walks' suggests that simply paying fresh attention to your surroundings can help.
Is awe always a positive feeling?
Not entirely. Awe can be tinged with fear or threat — think of a violent storm or overwhelming power — and this threat-based awe does not carry the same warm, prosocial glow. Awe is best understood as a family of related states, and the well-being findings apply most cleanly to its positive forms.
Can experiencing awe help my relationships?
Indirectly, yes. Because awe reduces self-absorption and boosts generosity and patience, it can help people show up more warmly. Sharing awe-inspiring moments with a partner also tends to create memorable, connecting experiences, which research links to closeness.
Research sources
These references point to the published research and established frameworks behind this page. They are provided for further reading; see our research methodology for how sources are selected.
- Keltner, D., & Haidt, J. (2003). Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion. Cognition and Emotion, 17(2), 297–314.
- 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.
- Rudd, M., Vohs, K. D., & Aaker, J. (2012). Awe expands people's perception of time, alters decision making, and enhances well-being. Psychological Science, 23(10), 1130–1136.
- Stellar, J. E., John-Henderson, N., Anderson, C. L., Gordon, A. M., McNeil, G. D., & Keltner, D. (2015). Positive affect and markers of inflammation. Emotion, 15(2), 129–133.
- Sturm, V. E., et al. (2022). Big smile, small self: Awe walks promote prosocial positive emotions in older adults. Emotion, 22(5), 1044–1058.
Last reviewed by the Men Women Psychology editorial team.
Written and reviewed by the Men Women Psychology Editorial Team against our editorial standards. This article is educational and is not a substitute for professional advice.