The Construct of Awe in Community Psychology: Toward a More Comprehensive Assessment for Applications to Vulnerable Populations.

Awe-inspiring interventions benefit homeless shelter residents, as shown through quantitative and qualitative data from a long-term participatory community action research project. The article also reports the development and validation of two new psychometric instruments—the Trait Inventory of Awe and the Inventory of Self-Efficacy for Awe—to assess trait awe, which previously lacked adequate measurement tools. The authors argue that awe experiences, characterized by vastness, self-transcendence, and enhanced prosociality, are linked to physical and mental health, but research on vulnerable populations has been scarce. Recommendations for using these instruments to evaluate awe interventions in vulnerable groups are provided.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This article contributes to the literature by (a) providing evidence of benefits of awe-inspiring interventions for a vulnerable population (i.e., residents of a homeless shelter), (b) reporting the development and validation of two new psychometric instruments that fill a significant void in the assessment of awe, and (c) providing recommendations for future research examining the use of these new instruments in assessing awe in vulnerable populations. Awe refers to peak experiences of sublime wonderment, accompanied by awe-related reactions including a sense of vastness, self-transcendence, interconnectivity with others or the world, enhanced prosociality, perceptual accommodation, altered time perception, and a characteristic pattern of neurophysiological reactivity. In the first section, we cite evidence that awe experiences are associated with both physical and mental health, as well as theoretical models on the mechanisms by which awe experiences enhance health. Then, we briefly review research on the benefits of awe-related interventions, emphasizing that there is a dearth of research focused on vulnerable populations. Subsequently, we present research (quantitative and qualitative) demonstrating the benefits of awe-related interventions for homeless shelter residents, which were implemented within the context of a long-term participatory community action research project. In the second section, we review research and theory regarding the specific elements of the awe construct. We show that, despite a growing body of research on awe, there is no adequate (comprehensive) psychometric instrument to assess trait (or dispositional) awe. Then, we present a series of studies (quantitative and qualitative) focused on developing and validating the Trait Inventory of Awe and an accompanying instrument (Inventory of Self-Efficacy for Awe). Toward the end of the manuscript, we discuss various ways to use the newly-validated psychometric instruments (including short versions) for assessing awe in vulnerable populations, including assessment of interventions designed to inspire awe.