Examining the effects of awe on depression: An EMA study
Year: 2025
Type: other
Abstract: Awe is an emotion that occurs when a person perceives vastness that challenges their usual frame of reference (Keltner & Haidt, 2003). It has also been shown to elicit a phenomenon known as the “small self," enabling people to not only perceive themselves as smaller, but also reduce focus on themselves and towards something larger instead (Bai et al., 2021; Piff et al., 2015; Shiota et al., 2007). Given that excessive self-focus is highly characteristic of depression, this has led some researchers to propose that awe may be beneficial in mitigating depression (Chirico & Gaggioli, 2021). However, there is emerging evidence suggesting that awe is be threatening in certain contexts (Chaudhury et al., 2021; Gordon et al., 2017) which may actually have counteractive implications for people with depression as these individuals have a greater tendency to hold negative cognitive biases (LeMoult & Gotlib, 2019). Thus, the primary aim of the current study is to elucidate whether experiences of awe alleviate or worsen depressive mood, as well as the underlying "small self" mechanisms that may be driving these effects, among individuals with and without a depressive disorder.
Source: Open Science Framework
Authors: Emery, Noah N., Sung, Angelina
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7117969189