What is Awe, Exactly?
Imagine standing beneath a clear night sky, far from the lights of the city. Above you are thousands of stars, stretching farther into space than you can possibly imagine. For a moment, you feel incredibly small. Yet somehow, you also feel connected to something extraordinary.
That feeling may be awe.
But what exactly is awe, and why do we experience it?
In 2003, psychologists Dacher Keltner and Jonathan Haidt reviewed research and articles from psychology, religion, philosophy, and sociology to develop a framework for understanding awe.
They proposed that awe involves two central features and identified five additional factors that can influence how the experience feels.1
The Two Main Features of Awe
According to Keltner and Haidt, awe involves two important experiences.
- Perceived Vastness: Encountering something that feels much bigger than ourselves, such as a towering mountain, the night sky, or even a profound idea.
- Need for Accommodation: The experience challenges our existing understanding, making us reconsider how we think about something.
What Shapes Our Experience of Awe
Awe doesn’t always feel the same. Sometimes it brings joy and admiration. Other times, it can involve fear, uncertainty, and discomfort. Keltner and Haidt identified five additional factors that can change how awe feels:
- Threat: The presence of danger or something frightening, such as a thunderstorm.
- Beauty: Encountering something extraordinarily beautiful, such as a remarkable landscape or a work of art.
- Exceptional Ability: Witnessing extraordinary skill, talent, or achievement.
- Virtue: Observing remarkable kindness, courage, or moral goodness.
- Supernatural: Interpreting an extraordinary experience as involving a god, spirit, or other supernatural force.
These factors can shape our experience of awe, but they do not necessarily produce awe on their own.
What Happens When We Experience Awe?
The feeling of awe may actually help us become more considerate of others.
In 2015, researchers Piff and colleagues conducted five studies involving 2,078 people to explore how awe affects the way we treat others. They discovered several interesting things.2
1. Awe May Encourage Kindness
The researchers found that people who naturally experienced awe more often also tended to be more generous.
In several experiments, participants who were encouraged to experience awe showed greater generosity, reported stronger values about helping others, or made more ethical decisions than participants in comparison groups.
These findings suggested that awe might encourage us to think beyond our own interests.
2. Awe Helps Us Think Beyond Ourselves
Researchers identified an experience called the small self. This happens when we encounter something so extraordinary that we feel small in comparison. For a moment, our personal concerns may seem less central as we recognize ourselves as part of something much larger.
The researchers found evidence suggesting that this shift in perspective helped explain why some participants experiencing awe showed greater concern for others.
Importantly, feeling small doesn’t necessarily mean feeling unimportant or worthless. It can simply mean seeing ourselves within a much larger picture.
3. Awe May Do More Than Make Us Feel Good
The researchers also compared awe with other emotions, such as pride and amusement.
In their experiments, awe was associated with greater generosity or ethical decision-making than some of these comparison emotions. These results suggested that awe’s effects might involve more than simply feeling happy or spending time in nature.
However, researchers are still investigating how reliable these effects are and whether they occur across different situations.
4. Awe May Help Us Feel Less Entitled
In one experiment, researchers asked participants to spend a minute looking up at either a grove of towering eucalyptus trees or a tall building.
Afterward, participants who had looked at the trees were more likely to help someone and reported lower feelings of entitlement.
The researchers suggested that experiencing awe might temporarily reduce our focus on our own importance, making us more attentive to the needs of others.
What Research Hasn’t Settled
Although these findings are promising, later research has raised questions about how consistently awe influences our behavior.
In a 2026 study, researchers attempted to reproduce several earlier findings about awe, including one of Piff and colleagues’ experiments.3 They successfully produced feelings of awe and found that participants experienced a greater sense of the small self. However, they did not find a significant improvement in ethical decision-making.
This doesn’t mean awe has no influence on how we treat others. It means more research is needed to understand when, how, and whether these effects reliably occur.
Why This Matters
Awe doesn’t just influence how we experience the world. It may also influence how we see our place within it. When we recognize that we’re part of something larger than ourselves, we may become more aware of our relationships with others and the world we share.
These are possibilities worth exploring, particularly when considering how we can build more compassionate and cooperative communities.
And importantly, experiencing awe doesn’t require religious beliefs or supernatural explanations. Sometimes, all it takes is looking up at the stars, appreciating the natural world, or discovering something that changes how we understand our place in the universe.
Feeling small doesn’t have to make our lives feel less meaningful. Sometimes, it reminds us that we are part of something extraordinary.
The Extraordinary in the Ordinary
When we think about awe, we often imagine extraordinary places or events, but we don’t always have to travel somewhere remarkable or witness something rare to experience awe. Sometimes, the extraordinary is found in surprisingly ordinary moments.
The Beauty of Human Kindness
We may experience awe when we see someone risk their own safety to help a stranger, or when we see a community come together to support a family going through a difficult time.
These types of experiences can inspire something psychologists call moral beauty: the sense of awe we may feel when witnessing extraordinary kindness, courage, or compassion.
Music, Art, Shared Experiences
Have you ever listened to a piece of music that gave you goosebumps? Or stood among thousands of people singing the same song?
Music, art, and shared experiences can inspire feelings of awe and connection. Researchers have explored how awe can emerge from music, collective movement, and other experiences that bring people together.
Sometimes, a powerful performance reminds us of the remarkable creativity and talent human beings possess. Other times, sharing an emotional experience with others can make us feel connected to something larger than ourselves.
We don’t necessarily need to interpret these feelings as supernatural to appreciate how meaningful they can be.
Finding Wonder in the Familiar
Nature offers countless opportunities for awe, but they aren’t limited to spectacular landscapes. Consider the complexity of a spider’s web, the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly, or the astonishing number of living organisms that exist in a handful of soil.
Even familiar things can become extraordinary when we begin to understand them more deeply. And awe isn’t limited to nature. Learning something that changes how we understand the world can be awe-inspiring, too.
A scientific discovery, a new perspective, or a sudden moment of understanding may challenge the way we think about something we’ve known our entire lives.
Sometimes, the world hasn’t changed at all. We’ve simply discovered a new way of seeing it.
The Value of Everyday Awe
In a 2023 study, researchers examined everyday experiences of awe among 414 adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.4 5
Over 22 days, participants recorded their experiences, including feelings of awe, stress, and well-being. The researchers found that on days when participants reported more awe, they also tended to report less stress and greater well-being.
These findings are encouraging, but they don’t establish that awe directly caused those improvements. Other factors may have influenced the participants’ experiences. Still, the research suggests that everyday awe deserves attention, even when it doesn’t involve dramatic or life-changing events.
Learning to Notice
Not every beautiful sunset, act of kindness, or piece of music will inspire awe. Our experiences are personal, and what moves one person may have little effect on another.
But perhaps we can become more attentive to the remarkable things already happening around us. We can appreciate the extraordinary complexity of the natural world, recognize the accomplishments of others, and remain curious about things we don’t yet understand.
We don’t have to manufacture feelings of wonder or search endlessly for profound experiences. Sometimes, we simply have to notice what’s already there.
The extraordinary isn’t always somewhere beyond our reach. Sometimes, it’s been around us all along.
The Other Side of Awe
Awe isn’t always a pleasant experience. Sometimes, the things that amaze us also frighten us.
In 2017, researchers conducted six studies to explore threat-based awe.6
How Common Is Threat-Based Awe?
The researchers found that 12% to 24% of the awe experiences reported in their study samples involved some form of threat. This suggests that fear is a fairly common part of experiencing awe.
What Makes Threat-Based Awe Different?
The researchers found several important differences between positive awe and threat-based awe.
- Feeling Less in Control: People experiencing threat-based awe were more likely to feel powerless or uncertain about what was happening around them.
- Feeling Fear Alongside Wonder: While positive awe often brings feelings of happiness or inspiration, threat-based awe is more likely to bring fear and anxiety.
- The Body Responds Differently: Threat-based awe was linked to physical signs of stress, including a faster heartbeat and increased sweating. Positive awe, on the other hand, was linked to activity in the body’s calming system.
- Different Effects on Well-Being: Positive awe helped people feel better in the moment. Threat-based awe did not show the same benefit, partly because people felt less powerful or in control.
Awe Doesn’t Always Feel Good
Imagine standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon, amazed by its size and beauty. Now imagine watching a powerful tornado moving across the landscape.
Both experiences can leave you feeling small in the presence of something much greater than yourself.
But while one may fill you with wonder, the other may fill you with fear.
Awe isn’t just about finding beauty in the world. Sometimes, it’s about recognizing how powerful the world can be, even when that power frightens us.
Does Understanding Something Make It Less Wonderful?
Many people worry that explaining something takes away its mystery. If science can tell us why a sunset is colorful, what causes an eclipse, or how emotions arise from the brain and body, does that make these experiences less amazing? I would argue that understanding does not reduce wonder. Instead, knowledge can give us new reasons to be amazed.
At first, the concern makes sense. Part of what makes something feel magical is that we do not fully understand it. A child watching a rainbow may be filled with awe because it seems almost supernatural. Once that child learns that rainbows are created when sunlight is bent and reflected by water droplets, some people might think the mystery has disappeared because the rainbow no longer seems like a miracle.
However, this view assumes that wonder depends entirely on ignorance. In reality, understanding often reveals new layers of beauty. Knowing how a rainbow forms does not make it less colorful or less rare. Instead, it allows us to appreciate the complex interaction of light, water, and geometry that creates it. What once seemed like simple magic becomes a deeper and more intricate story.
The same can be said about a sunset. Learning that sunlight travels through the atmosphere and scatters into different colors does not make the sky less beautiful. In fact, it can make the experience richer. The person who understands the science can admire both the colors themselves and the remarkable physical processes that produce them. There are now two sources of wonder rather than one.
Human emotions offer another example. Some fear that if love, joy, or sadness can be explained through biology and brain activity, these feelings will seem less meaningful. But understanding the physical basis of emotions does not make them any less real. A poem does not lose its value because it is made of words, and music does not lose its power because it is made of vibrations in the air. Likewise, emotions can be both biological processes and deeply important parts of human life. Knowing how they work can increase our appreciation for the complexity of the human mind.
Of course, science alone cannot prove that understanding adds wonder. Science can describe the world and explain how things happen, but it cannot tell us exactly how we ought to feel about those explanations. The conclusion that knowledge can enhance wonder is a philosophical judgment rather than an experimental result. Different people may react differently to the same explanation.
Still, I believe that understanding and wonder are not enemies. The universe is astonishing not because it hides all its secrets, but because even when we uncover some of them, we often discover deeper questions and greater complexity. Scientific knowledge does not close the door on wonder. Instead, it opens new doors, showing us that reality is often far more remarkable than our first impressions suggest. In that sense, understanding something can make it not less wonderful, but more wonderful than we ever imagined.
Cultivating Awe in Everyday Life
If understanding the world can increase our sense of wonder, then how can we experience more awe in our daily lives? Since we know that awe does not require expensive trips or grand adventures, we can find it from paying closer attention to the world that is already around us.
Here are some examples of simple ways that can help us find awe in our everyday lives.
Take an Awe Walk
One simple way to cultivate awe is by taking an “awe walk.” In a 2022 study, researchers asked participants to take a 15-minute walk outdoors once a week.7 Some participants were encouraged to actively look for things that inspired awe, such as interesting clouds, large trees, or beautiful patterns in nature. Over time, these participants reported greater feelings of joy, appreciation, compassion, and connection to something larger than themselves. Even short walks made a difference. The key was not where they walked, but how they paid attention. Sometimes the extraordinary is hiding in ordinary places.
Look Up at the Night Sky
Few experiences remind us of our place in the universe like looking at the stars. Whether you live in a city or a rural area, spending a few minutes observing the night sky can inspire a sense of scale and perspective. Learning about the stars, planets, and galaxies you are seeing can make the experience even more meaningful.
Learn Something New About Something Familiar
Choose something you see every day, such as a tree, a bird, a cloud, or even your own brain, and spend a few minutes learning how it works. Understanding the hidden complexity behind ordinary things often reveals that reality is far more remarkable than it first appears.
Pay Attention to Small Details
We often rush through our days without noticing what is around us. Try slowing down and focusing on details: the pattern of raindrops on a window, the shape of a leaf, or the colors of a sunset. Awe often begins when we stop treating familiar things as background scenery.
Spend Time with Great Human Achievements
Read a powerful book, listen to beautiful music, visit a museum, or learn about a major scientific discovery. Human creativity and curiosity have produced remarkable works of art, technology, and knowledge. Reflecting on what people have accomplished can inspire wonder just as powerfully as nature can.
Awe is not reserved for rare moments. It is available to us every day. The more curious we become and the more attention we give to the world around us, the more opportunities we have to experience wonder. Often, the deeper our understanding grows, the more reasons we find to be amazed.
An Extraordinary Experience in an Ordinary Universe
Understanding awe doesn’t make the experience any less remarkable. It reminds us that our capacity for wonder is part of the natural human experience.
We don’t need to explain the extraordinary by appealing to the supernatural. We can appreciate the beauty of the universe, celebrate the kindness and creativity of others, and continue asking questions about a world we’re only beginning to understand.
The universe doesn’t have to hold a special purpose for us to find meaning in experiencing it.
References
- Keltner, D., & Haidt, J. (2003). Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion. Cognition and Emotion, 17(2), 297–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930302297 ↩︎
- 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. ↩︎
- Graziosi, M., Chirico, A., Clifton, J. D. W., Rohde, J. S., Chhabra, R., & Yaden, D. B. (2026). A series of replication attempts of experimental awe-induction effects. PLOS ONE, 21(9), Article e0356728. ↩︎
- Monroy, M., & Keltner, D. (2023). Awe as a pathway to mental and physical health. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 18(2), 309–320. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916221094856 ↩︎
- Monroy, M., Uğurlu, Ö., Zerwas, F., Corona, R., Keltner, D., Eagle, J., & Amster, M. (2023). The influences of daily experiences of awe on stress, somatic health, and well-being: A longitudinal study during COVID-19. Scientific Reports, 13, Article 9336. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35200-w ↩︎
- Gordon, A. M., Stellar, J. E., Anderson, C. L., McNeil, G. D., Loew, D., & Keltner, D. (2017). The dark side of the sublime: Distinguishing a threat-based variant of awe. Journal of personality and social psychology, 113(2), 310. ↩︎
- Sturm, V. E., Datta, S., Roy, A. R., Sible, I. J., Kosik, E. L., Veziris, C. R., … & Keltner, D. (2022). Big smile, small self: Awe walks promote prosocial positive emotions in older adults. Emotion, 22(5), 1044. ↩︎
