Introduction:
Awe is the overwhelming feeling that arises when individuals encounter stimuli that exceed their existing mental schema, leading to a sense of incomprehension and a need for accommodation. Awe can be experienced as a purely pleasurable state or accompanied by threat, fear, or dread. It also encompasses a cognitive-transformative dimension that can reshape one's understanding of oneself and the world. However, the extant literature has predominantly focused on the positive valence of awe, leaving its negative valence comparatively underexplored, especially in terms of its transformative dimension. Most studies in this domain have been conducted in Western populations, despite evidence indicating that cultural frameworks shape how awe is experienced and articulated.
Purpose:
To explore how individuals make sense of their lived awe experiences and how these experiences contribute to transformative shifts in self-view and worldview.
Method:
This study employs a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews with 16 participants from India. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to identify key themes within their subjective experiences.
Results:
The findings suggest that the cognitive-transformative component of awe follows two distinct pathways, depending on emotional valence. When awe entails positive valence, it unfolds through immersion and absorption, evoking a heightened sense of connectedness and shifting attention outward. This outward focus often prompts a longing to re-experience the feeling and fosters curiosity and exploration. In contrast, when awe carries a negative valence, attention turns inward, producing awareness of one's limitations in power, control, and knowledge. This inward focus leads to reflective awareness and humility.
Conclusions:
Awe leads to transformation in both its positive and negative forms, but the route of transformation differs. This study expands the broaden-and-build theory by demonstrating that psychological broadening can arise not only through uplift and openness but also through discomfort-mediated reflection, contributing to understanding how awe supports well-being, particularly through the integrative role of negative valence.