Scientists Are Trying to Solve the Mystery of Awe

New York Magazine:

Think about a time you’ve experienced awe. Maybe you were gazing up at a massive mountain range, or looking down into the depths of an infant’s eyes, or watching lightning as it seemed to crack the sky open. Maybe you felt humbled, or shaken; maybe you were struck by the vastness of the universe and your own tiny part in it. Psychologists consider awe a form of “self-transcendence”: you temporarily blur at the edges, feeling a connection to something greater than yourself.

Accounts of awe abound in the arts and humanities, but it wasn’t until relatively recently that psychologists have begun to explore the phenomenon in depth. In 2003, researchers Jonathan Haidt and Dacher Keltner published a landmark study on the social and emotional functions of awe, reporting that it appeared to increase people’s feelings of connectedness and willingness to help others.

Read the whole story: New York Magazine