Why dispositional awe promotes psychosocial flourishing? An investigation of intrapersonal and interpersonal pathways among Chinese emerging adults

Prone to wellness? Dispositional awe, religion/spirituality, and well-being among academic scientists

Recent scholarship has identified a growing mental health crisis among scientists and those in academia more generally. This study draws from nationally representative survey data collected from physicists and biologists working in four countries-the United Kingdom, the United States, India, and Italy (N = 3442)-and examines how religion/spirituality relates to their physical and mental well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential mediating role of dispositional awe, which involves transcendent experience. In the current age, science and religion are generally perceived to be in conflict, but recent evidence suggests they might be more complementary than was previously thought, especially in that they both evoke aesthetic experiences. Results from our regression and mediation analyses suggest that academic scientists who rated religion/spirituality as "very important" in their lives had higher overall flourishing scores, lower psychological distress, and were less likely to report that their mental and physical health had worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings present a strong and consistent case for the explanatory role of a sense of awe in these associations. Taken together, our research invites academic and scientific institutions to recognize and value the personal and spiritual dimensions that scientists may bring to their work.

The unique role of meaning in life in the relationships between trait awe, subjective well-being, and prosocial tendency: A network analysis

Although individuals with higher trait awe (the tendency to experience awe) are known to be happier and more prosocial, there is limited understanding of the mechanisms underlying these complex relationships. This study uses network analysis to explore dimension-level relationships between trait awe, meaning in life, subjective well-being (SWB), and prosocial tendency in a joint network and to explore the bridging role of meaning in life in the network. A total of 538 adults (53.2% females; Mage = 19.86 ± 1.51) completed the survey. The network revealed unique and intricate connections between the dimensions of trait awe, meaning in life (i.e., the presence of and the search for meaning, abbreviated as POM and SFM), subjective happiness and life satisfaction (SWB), and prosocial tendency (i.e., willingness to donate money and volunteer time). Trait awe exhibited direct links to subjective happiness, life satisfaction, and prosocial tendency to donate money. Moreover, through POM and SFM, trait awe also exhibited indirect links to each dimension of SWB and prosocial tendency. Within the global network, POM was further identified as acting as a bridge node with the highest bridge strength and closeness, indicating that POM could efficiently transmit influences within the entire network. These findings highlight the distinct contributions of meaning in life to understanding the relationships between trait awe, SWB, and prosocial tendency, and provide valuable insights for improving SWB and fostering prosocial tendencies.

Vitality Revisited: The Evolving Concept of Flourishing and Its Relevance to Personal and Public Health

Human flourishing, the state of optimal functioning and well-being across all aspects of an individual's life, has been a topic of philosophical and theological discussion for centuries. In the mid-20th century, social psychologists and health scientists began exploring the concept of flourishing in the context of health and high-level wellness. However, it is only in recent years, in part due to the USD 43 million Global Flourishing Study including 22 countries, that flourishing has entered the mainstream discourse. Here, we explore this history and the rapid acceleration of research into human flourishing, defined as "the relative attainment of a state in which all aspects of a person's life are good" by the Harvard University's Flourishing Program. We also explore the construct of "vitality", which refers to a sense of aliveness, energy, and motivation; we contend that this has been neglected in the flourishing movement. We explore why incorporating measures of vitality, together with a broader biopsychosocial approach, considers all dimensions of the environment across time (the total exposome), which will greatly advance research, policies, and actions to achieve human flourishing.

Dispositional Awe Positively Predicts Prosocial Tendencies: The Multiple Mediation Effects of Connectedness and Empathy

Awe is an emotion frequently experienced by individuals in different cultures. When individuals experience awe, they would feel a sense of connectedness to other people or nature arises, and shift their attention to the outside world, which would increase empathy for others in need and, in turn, improve their prosocial tendencies. To test this proposal, we applied a cross-sectional study using a questionnaire survey to collect a sample of 1545 (N_female = 988) in Asia, aged between 16 and 71 years old (M = 22.81, SD = 7.80). The Structural Equation Model and bootstrapping method were used to test the mediation effects of connectedness and empathy between awe and prosocial tendency. Results showed that dispositional awe positively predicted a prosocial tendency, which could be partially explained by the multiple mediation effects of connectedness and empathy, after controlling for the effect of the small self. The findings deepen researchers' understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the relationship between awe and prosociality and have practical implications for cultivating awe and prosocial behavior.

Transcendental Awe of God and Dimensions of Well-Being: Exploring the Mediating Role of Meaning in Life

Scholars have long speculated that experiencing awe-an emotional state where people believe they are in the presence of something grand-might be beneficial for well-being. We explore a manifestation of awe that is unique to religion-awe of God. Drawing on a national sample from the United States, being in awe of God was associated with lower depression, higher life satisfaction, and better self-rated health, associations partially mediated by the sense of meaning in life. Awe of God may bolster well-being by allowing people to view their life according to the vastness and complexity of a divine plan.