Thinking Outside of Yourself: The Potential of Awe in Mitigating Psychological Reactance Via Inspiring Self-Transcendence.

Awe, an emotion that shifts focus away from oneself, may reduce resistance to messages that feel freedom-threatening. Two studies—a survey of 353 people and an online experiment with 419 participants—tested whether awe lessens psychological reactance in health and environmental communication. Trait awe was linked to lower trait reactance. Induced state awe reduced state reactance by increasing self-transcendence and decreasing perceived threats to freedom, improving attitudes and behavioral intentions. This effect appeared only for climate change messages, not for sun protection. The findings suggest awe can be a strategic communication tool for certain issues.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Awe, a self-transcendent emotion that can transform our egocentric perspective, has the potential to reduce the resistance to freedom-threatening messages. However, no research has yet offered empirical evidence in health and environmental communication contexts. The present research aims to bridge this gap by explicating whether and how awe alleviates psychological reactance induced by threat-to-freedom messages. We conducted a survey (N = 353, Study 1) and an online experiment (N = 419, Study 2) to examine whether trait awe and video-induced state awe can improve persuasion outcomes by mitigating psychological reactance. Results showed that trait awe was negatively associated with trait reactance. Additionally, state awe dampened state reactance by elevating self-transcendence and diminishing the perceptions of threat to freedom and reactance, which improved one's attitudes toward the message advocacy and behavioral intentions. However, this effect was only supported with the issue of climate change rather than sun protection. Theoretical contributions and practical implications for leveraging awe appeal in strategic communication are discussed.