Self-help gurus extol the benefits of 鈥渁wakening the giant within鈥� 鈥� but don鈥檛 dismiss the benefits of feeling small. A diminished sense of self-importance caused by feeling awe can make people more considerate and generous, as they compare themselves to something bigger than human beings.
鈥淎we is the perception of something so physically or conceptually vast that it transcends your view of the world and you need to find ways to accommodate it,鈥� says of the University of California, Irvine. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a basic sense that what you have experienced doesn鈥檛 fit in with your expectations of the world, so you have to recalibrate.鈥�
Piff and his colleagues tried to instil a sense of awe in a group of 90 volunteers by asking them to spend 60 seconds staring up at a grove of 60-metre-tall Tasmanian eucalyptus trees, the tallest collection of hardwood trees in North America. Another group stared up at a somewhat less awe-inspiring building. Piff鈥檚 team then staged an accident, dropping a box of pens. The people who had gazed at the trees were more helpful and picked up more pens.
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Constructive power
Further studies involving the tree-gazing exercise showed that awe can also encourage people to endorse more ethical decisions, lower their sense of entitlement and report more 鈥減rosocial鈥� values 鈥� in which they pay more attention to the needs of others than their own.
The effect was also seen in people鈥檚 reactions to videos of storms and volcanoes, suggesting that even destructive nature has the power to make us nicer.
鈥淣o matter who you are, awe has that effect,鈥� says Piff 鈥� but many of us are unaware of the fact. 杏吧原创s have experimented with all sorts of emotions, but not awe. 鈥淲e鈥檙e in the midst of an awe deficit. People are prioritising other things.鈥�
鈥淭his impressive set of carefully designed and conducted studies shows how important it is for us as individuals to stand back and look at the bigger picture and be inspired by others and the world around us,鈥� says of the European Centre for Environment and Human Health at the University of Exeter, UK.
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