The Role of Awe in Risk-Taking and the Exploration of the Unknown

Much has been learned about awe through scientific inquiry in the last twenty years, however, few researchers have looked to understand the adaptive function. Recent work has suggested that the function of awe is cognitive in nature. This view argues that the function awe plays is linked to how individuals respond to uncertainty. This approach proposes that awe should be linked to various epistemic dispositions such as curiosity, impulsivity, intolerance to uncertainty, and existential thinking. It further suggests that awe will have a distinct effect on risk-taking behaviors compared to fear and curiosity. The current project consists of three studies designed to test these predictions. The first study works to explore the relationship between awe and epistemic dispositions. 398 participants recruited from introductory psychology classes participated in the study. Each participant was given a battery of surveys to measure dispositional positive emotions and epistemic dispositions. Results show that awe is indeed related to epistemic dispositions in general. Further, mediation models show that this relationship is complex and may involve competing pathways. The second study (N=156) suggests that awe does not affect probabilistic risk-taking compared to fear and curiosity groups. Regression models show that dispositional awe may have a small predictive effect on risk-taking. Results of the third study (N=152) showed that awe does have a distinct effect on some risk-taking measures when exploring an uncertain object. Finally, in terms of physiology, all groups were similar with some evidence that fear facilitated increases in respiration rate and sAA which indicates greater sympathetic activation compared to awe and curiosity. In conclusion, the findings suggest that awe is indeed associated with epistemic dispositions and facilitates the exploration of uncertainty.