UC Berkeley

In the present work I test, for the first time, the Awe-Inclusion Hypothesis. The results of six studies across diverse methodologies provide support for my central claim, that awe is associated with greater social inclusion—conceptualized in terms of openness, collective orientation, connectedness, and perceptions and behavioral intentions of inclusion. I first tested this claim in trait-like tendencies and found that awe prone people tend to be more open-minded, more collective oriented, feel more connectedness to others, and are more inclusive of others (Studies 1 & 6). Second, in in-vivo studies in nature, self-reports of awe were related to greater connectedness to others (Studies 2 & 3). Third, in day-to-day life, on days in which people experienced more awe than typical, they also experienced greater connectedness and openness to different cultures (Studies 4 & 5). Fourth and last, in an experimental study, people induced to experience awe were more inclusive of People of Color (Study 6). Moreover, when compared to a pride and neutral condition, people in the awe condition were the least inclusive of non-POC, white groups. Across these studies, the effects of awe were unique and beyond the effects of other positive emotions. This work provides evidence suggesting that experiences of awe are associated with different aspects of social inclusion and provides promise for interventions aiming to improve diversity and inclusion.