Although long evading scientific scrutiny, the emotion awe has recently come under sustained analysis by experimental social psychologists. Nevertheless, very little is known about its nature, function, elicitors and effects on human behavior. This thesis offers a data-driven experimental analysis of awe, exploring the theme that the emotion involves a transcendence from mental maps of the self and the world. From this central motif, we explore more narrowly-defined questions, such as whether awe is associated with transcendence from implicit social cognition, the desire to conform, and the need for social inclusion. We also explore whether other techniques that elicit self-transcendence serve to amplify the awe experience. Utilizing a randomized control trial methodology, we found that awe, compared to other positive emotions and neutral states, was causally associated with lower implicit prejudice towards groups based on gender and ethnicity. We also proposed and successfully detected a mechanism for this effect, namely the strengthening of an identification with all humanity. We found mixed support for the idea that awe is associated with a lesser need to conform and be socially included. Finally, in exploring possible elicitors and amplifiers, we detected a positive association between dispositional awe and mindfulness and found that experimentally-elicited mindfulness can activate awe even towards relatively ordinary stimuli. This thesis builds upon and refines the idea of awe as a self-transcending emotion, offering insights on particular aspects of cognition and behavior that are changed by the experience. We have also located some promising new paths of investigation that future researchers may find useful to follow further. In summary, the present work helps extend the exploration of the nature and function of an undeniably profound human experience.

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity International University, Deerfield, Ill., 1997. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-140).

I wish I could believe in something. Having grown up in a religious household, I have continually teetered between faith and doubt. Landscapes seen and unseen are my last source of awe; here my doubt is suspended – for a moment. Using unfired clay, I create alternate landscapes inspired by sublime philosophy. The sublime experience is born in a sense of amazement linked to fear of something beyond our understanding or control. The amazing intricacy of microbiology, a whole universe existing alongside and inside us, fascinates me. The abundance of unfamiliar life in my work triggers a cautious curiosity. My imagined worlds push beyond the boundaries provided for them invading our tense reality. These unfamiliar landscapes offer a window of escape, where viewers explore their relationship to an alternate world which bears similarities to our own.

Over the past few decades, video games have become a popular avenue for dissemination of information and publicity about video games is word-of-mouth sharing. Thus, it is imperative for researchers to examine the social, and individual processes that guide this behavior. Focusing on prerelease sharing behavior specifically, this pair of studies aimed to identify predictors and dimensions of video game information sharing, and explore the impact content characteristics have on individuals' likelihood to share game information either online or to friends. A pretest survey (n = 577) investigated the prominence word-of-mouth communication has on video game information sharing amongst college students, finding it to be the most common method of sharing and obtaining game information. The main experiment (n = 227) examined participants' intent to share information after being exposed to a video game trailer manipulated to emphasize variations of core video game characteristics (control, narrative and mechanics) and emotional appeals (control, awe and hedonic). There were no findings suggesting the manipulations had a significant effect on participants' intent to share; however, those who reported first-person shooters as their favorite genre reported significantly more intent to share. Conceptualized through Social Exchange Theory and Social Identity Theory; the experiment also explored motivations to share based on exchange value, and gamer identity. Implications for our understanding of motivations to share game information based on social networks and content characteristics are discussed. / Master of Arts / Questions about what makes video games highly anticipated and commonly discussed before games are played by the general public were examined through a pretest survey and main experiment. A pretest questionnaire focused on potential motivations driving word-of-mouth information sharing among video game players about particular games. The main experiment further examined motivations to share game information but also considered the impact of content characteristics (games intended for enjoyment vs. awe-inspiring experiences) and game characteristics (games story driven vs. gameplay driven) used in video game trailers on intent to share and heightened anticipation surrounding an upcoming game. Word-of-mouth information sharing and social structures were highly related to participants’ intent to share information about games to friends, but specific content included in video game trailers did not significantly increase intent to share. This thesis contributes to word-of-mouth and marketing research in the context of prerelease video game promotional efforts by examining external and internal motivations which drive the sharing of information or content with friends.

The vastness of the universe (i.e., cosmic vastness) can evoke polarizing existential experiences. Some people report elevating experience, such as awe, elevation, and self-transcendence, whereas others experience existential distress, such as feeling insignificant, powerless, and vulnerable. The purpose of this thesis was to examine three main research questions: 1) How do people react to the vastness of the universe? 2) What is it about witnessing cosmic vastness (i.e., mediators) that elicits polarizing experiences? 3) What is it about a person and their individual traits (i.e., moderators) that causes people to react differently? Two studies were conducted to investigate these questions. Study 1 was a primarily qualitative in-lab study where participants watched one of two videos depicting the vastness of the universe. Participants answered open-ended questions about their experiences, along with some preliminary quantitative questions, and these responses were used to inform what experiences were measured in Study 2. Study 2 was an online quantitative experiment in which a cosmic vastness video was compared to two other videos (Earth nature vastness and neutral control). Study 2 also examined mediators and moderators that explain the relationship between witnessing cosmic vastness and both elevating experience and existential distress. Both studies found that facing cosmic vastness can elicit positive and negative experiences. Study 1 found that most participants reported positive (93%) and negative experiences (68%), including a substantial degree of elevating experience (58%) and existential distress (46%). Study 1 also found several cognitive responses that were good candidates to be mediators in Study 2, including small self, need for accommodation, experience of the unknown, and existential contemplation. Study 2 showed that a cosmic vastness condition elicited greater levels of elevating experience than the neutral control condition and greater levels of existential distress than both the neutral control and Earth nature vastness conditions. Results from both studies also found significant polarization in participants responses, such that half of the participants reported more elevating experience, and half of participants reported more existential distress. Mediation analyses in Study 2 demonstrated that the four cognitive responses each mediated the positive relationship between witnessing cosmic vastness and both elevating experience and existential distress. Furthermore, moderation analyses revealed that self-esteem moderated the relationship between witnessing cosmic vastness and elevating experience, whereas both self-esteem and meaning in life moderated the relationship between cosmic vastness and existential distress. This research provided unique contributions to literature on how people react to vast stimuli that has the capacity to be existentially threatening. Further implications of these results are discussed, as well as how these results may generalize to other areas of research.

Uppsatsen avhandlar Rapid Dominance genom Shock and Awe. En teori utvecklad av författarna Ullman och Wade som publicerades i ett paper 1996. Papret vid namn Shock and Awe, Achieving Rapid Dominance var ämnat att utveckla ett nytt sätt för den amerikanska militären att planera och genomföra operationer på. Efter det kalla krigets slut skulle oundvikliga förändringar av den amerikanska militärens resurser ske. För att hantera denna förändring ville författarna utveckla ett koncept som skulle kunna fungera som en doktrin i framtiden. Konceptet skulle kräva färre resurser men ge samma eller till och med högre effekt än vad de tidigare koncepten medgav. Teorin åskådliggörs genom en undersökning om hur teorin tillämpades i planeringen av Irakkriget 2003. Irakkriget som skulle präglas av en plan med syfte att nyttja modern teknik för verkan mot utvalda irakiska militära mål i militärledningen och informationsspridning för att skapa förvirring inom de irakiska förbanden i syfte att viljan att strida skulle upphöra genom den chock och fruktan de upplevde. Studien avslutas med en diskussion om planering av operationer och generaliserbarheten i Ullman och Wades teori. Författaren kommer fram till att tankar om teorin går att finna i återgivningar av planeringen av operationen. Dock är det svårt att även under planeringsskedet svårt att planera för att uppnå Rapid Dominance genom Shock and Awe även om det finns tillgång till modern krigsmateriel och metoder. / The thesis discusses Rapid Dominance and Shock and Awe. A theory developed by the authors Ullman and Wade, published in a paper 1996. The paper called Shock and Awe Achieving Rapid Dominance was intended to develop a new way for the U.S. military to plan and execute operations. After the Cold War were inevitable changes of the U.S. military's resources taking place. United States Armed Forces would be reduced. The authors of the theory wanted to develop a concept that made the Armed Forces able to manage this change. To manage this change, the authors wanted to develop a concept that could work as a doctrine in the future. The concept would require fewer resources but provide the same or even more power than they previously admitted concepts. The theory is illustrated by a study on how the theory applied in the planning of the Iraq war in 2003. Iraq war which would be characterized by a plan intended to utilize modern technology for activity against selected Iraqi military targets in the military command and information dissemination to create confusion in the Iraqi troops to the will to fight would end by the shock and awe they experienced. The study concludes with a discussion about the planning of operations and the generalization of Ullman and Wade's theory. The author concludes that the thoughts of the theory can be found in depictions of the planning of the operation. However, it is difficult even in the planning stages is difficult to plan to achieve Rapid Dominance by Shock and Awe although there is access to modern military equipment and methods.

This project offers an analysis of how the transformative power of creative process in learning offers humankind relational connections with the natural environment. It supports the recommendation that educational institutions move towards a transformative creative learning process. The paper argues that by teaching children through assumptions of the world as in constant creative becoming humankind will move toward a more encompassing, coherent story of the universe which allows for the increasing self-actualization of individuals. After offering a theoretical discussion of the transformative power of creativity through the works of Brian Swimme, Edmund OSullivan and Alfred North Whitehead, the author provides descriptive, interpretive and critical narrative accounts of a teaching occasion created by her in which she illustrates her understanding of this transformative power.

This project offers an analysis of how the transformative power of creative process in learning offers humankind relational connections with the natural environment. It supports the recommendation that educational institutions move towards a transformative creative learning process. The paper argues that by teaching children through assumptions of the world as in constant creative becoming humankind will move toward a more encompassing, coherent story of the universe which allows for the increasing self-actualization of individuals. After offering a theoretical discussion of the transformative power of creativity through the works of Brian Swimme, Edmund OSullivan and Alfred North Whitehead, the author provides descriptive, interpretive and critical narrative accounts of a teaching occasion created by her in which she illustrates her understanding of this transformative power.

Det pågår en ständig utveckling av normativa teorier om krig för att kunna anpassa sig till nutida konflikter. Nya teorier utvecklas i takt med ny teknologi och nya motståndare. De teorier som utvecklats på senare tid har föranlett till denna jämförelse mellan manöverkrigföring och Shock and Awe, Achieving Rapid Dominance. Uppsatsen syftar till att studera huruvida Shock and Awe, Achieving Rapid Dominance är en egen teori och i vilken utsträckning den grundar sig i manöverkrigföring. Genom en kvalitativ metod där textanalyser har legat till fokus, skapas idealtyper av manöverkrigföringens grundläggande element. Dessa verkar sedan som indikatorer för att urskilja likheter och skillnader med Shock and Awe. Resultatet visar på ett flertal likheter och skillnader som leder till slutsatsen att Shock and Awe inte kan definieras som en originell teori, då likheterna med manöverkrigföringen är allt för stora.

Självtranscendenta känslor har påvisats ha prosociala effekter, men ur ett kognitivt perspektiv är dessa känslor tämligeno utforskade. Här undersöks vilka slags bedömningar av situationer (så kallade appraisal) som utmärker de självtranscendenta känslorna förundran, medkänsla och tacksamhet. Femtiofyra individer mellan 25 och 78 år deltog. Deltagarna skattade varje känsla i ett frågeformulär vars påståenden var relaterade till sju olika appraisaldimensioner. Envägs beroende ANOVOR visade att skattningarna skilde sig åt mellan känslorna för sex av de sju appraisaldimensionerna. Medkänsla skilde sig mest frekvent från de andra känslorna,medan förundran och tacksamhet endast skilde sig från varandra avseende målrelevans. Förundran och tacksamhet, men inte medkänsla, präglades av behaglighet. Vems beteende som var orsak till händelsen varierade mellan känslorna, men alla känslor skattades i låg utsträckning som normöverträdande. Diskussionen tar upp att nuvarande appraisal-teorier har svårt att ringa in självtranscendenta känslor. För framtida forskning skulledet vara av värde att bredda och justera befintliga teorier.