The top trigger for awe is other people being good
Across 26 countries, moral beauty ranked above nature, music, and art.
Freakonomics Radio Network · What If Being a Stranger Is Actually Your Superpower? | Better in PersonThe top trigger for awe was moral beauty, the extraordinary things ordinary people do.
That ranking comes from research by Dacher Keltner, a scientist at Berkeley, who studied awe in 26 countries among thousands of people. He identified eight reliable triggers, including nature, music, art and visual design, birth and death, and spiritual experience. Moral beauty ranked first.
Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, leader of Central Synagogue in New York, says funerals show her why. Every death is sad, she says, but each one also contains awe that puts what matters into sharp focus and makes her want to live better.
After the attacks of October 7, she deliberately lifted up stories of selflessness, generosity, bravery, and courage coming from Israel. She said the media wants to emphasize "the worst aspects of human nature," and she wanted to spotlight the good instead. She described stories like that as contagious. What she sees instead, she says, are acts of moral beauty by everyday people.
Questions people ask
What counts as awe, exactly?
Psychologists generally define awe as the feeling of encountering something vast that challenges your usual understanding. It often brings goosebumps, a dropped jaw, or a sense of being small in a good way. It can be triggered by a canyon, a piece of music, or a stranger doing something brave.
What were the other seven triggers besides moral beauty?
In Keltner’s list they were nature, music, visual design, spiritual or religious experience, birth and death, intellectual epiphany, and collective gathering. Collective gathering means the electricity of crowds, from concerts to sports stadiums to religious services. Different people respond more to different triggers.
Is feeling awe actually good for you?
Research links moments of awe to lower stress, more generosity, and greater life satisfaction. Scientists think awe quiets self-focus and makes people feel connected to something larger. That is why practices that invite awe, like being in nature or noticing kindness, are often recommended for well-being.