Self-transcendent emotions and their social functions: compassion, gratitude, and awe bind us to others through prosociality
Abstract
In this article we review the emerging literature on the self-transcendent emotions. We discuss how the self-transcendent emotions differ from other positive emotions and outline the defining features of this category. We then provide an analysis of three specific self-transcendent emotions—compassion, gratitude, and awe—detailing what has been learned about their expressive behavior, physiology, and likely evolutionary origins. We propose that these emotions emerged to help humans solve unique problems related to caretaking, cooperation, and group coordination in social interactions. In our final section we offer predictions about the self-transcendent emotions that can guide future research.
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Awe- and compassion-inducing experiences are related to diminished self-salience and social isolation.
“Awe- and compassion-inducing experiences are related to diminished self-salience and social isolation (34, 68, 69), whereas values- and meaning-oriented interventions support existential reorientation and purpose reconstruction (36, 65, 71).”
From The therapeutic role of self-transcendence in moral injury recovery: theory, mechanisms, and clinical implications (2026) · cites this paper as [69]
Self-transcendent emotions decrease the salience of the individual self and promote union with other people and social groups.
“These emotions decrease the salience of the individual self and promote union with other people and social groups (Haidt, 2003b; Van Cappellen and Rimé, 2014; Stellar et al., 2017).”
From Emotional processes, collective behavior, and social movements: A meta-analytic review of collective effervescence outcomes during collective gatherings and demonstrations (2022) · cites this paper as Stellar et al., 2017
Research on transcendent positive emotions, particularly awe, demonstrates that such emotions expand individuals' sense of social connectedness and increase identification with broader collective categories, thereby promoting generosity, helping, and cooperative behavior.
“Research on transcendent positive emotions, particularly awe, demonstrates that such emotions expand individuals’ sense of social connectedness and increase identification with broader collective categories, thereby promoting generosity, helping, and cooperative behavior (Bai et al., 2017; Piff et al., 2015; Stellar et al., 2017).”
From Peer Attachment and Prosocial Behavior: The Mediating Role of Positive Legal Emotion and the Moderating Effect of Social Exclusion (2026) · cites this paper as Stellar et al., 2017
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Moving the self and others to do good: The emotional underpinnings of prosocial behavior
Kleef, G. A. V., & Lelieveld, G. (2021) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.08.029 · Cited by 121 · see citing works
The Impact of Awe Induced by COVID-19 Pandemic on Green Consumption Behavior in China
Sun, X., Su, W., Guo, X., & Tian, Z. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18020543 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Participatory resilience: Surviving, recovering and improving together
Mahajan, S., Hausladen, C. I., Sánchez–Vaquerizo, J. A., Korecki, M., & Helbing, D. (2022) · Sustainable Cities and Society · doi:10.1016/j.scs.2022.103942 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
How do tourism activities and induced awe affect tourists’ pro-environmental behavior?
Su, L., Li, M., Wen, J., & He, X. (2024) · Tourism Management · doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2024.105002 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
Li, Y., Keh, H. T., & Murray, K. B. (2023) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-023-00928-4 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
Moving Through the Literature: What Is the Emotion Often Denoted Being Moved?
Zickfeld, J., Schubert, T. W., Seibt, B., & Fiske, A. P. (2019) · Emotion Review · doi:10.1177/1754073918820126 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Nature contact and mood benefits: contact duration and mood type
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Jacobs, T. P., & McConnell, A. R. (2022) · Journal of Environmental Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101797 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
Relation Between Awe and Environmentalism: The Role of Social Dominance Orientation
Zhao, H., Zhang, H., Xu, Y., Lu, J., & He, W. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02367 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
The proximal experience of awe
Nelson, S. K., Ruberton, P. M., Chancellor, J., Cornick, J. E., Blascovich, J., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2019) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0216780 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
The antecedents and consequences of awe in dark tourism
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Why Are People High in Dispositional Awe Happier? The Roles of Meaning in Life and Materialism
Zhao, H., Zhang, H., Xu, Y., He, W., & Lu, J. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01208 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Anderson, C. L., Dixson, D. D., Monroy, M., & Keltner, D. J. (2019) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/jopy.12524 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
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“These emotions decrease the salience of the individual self and promote union with other people and social groups (Haidt, 2003b; Van Cappellen and Rimé, 2014; Stellar et al., 2017).”
BackgroundAwe and the interconnected self
Chen, S. K., & Mongrain, M. (2020) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2020.1818808 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Awe and meaning: Elucidating complex effects of awe experiences on meaning in life
Rivera, G. N., Vess, M., Hicks, J. A., & Routledge, C. D. (2019) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2604 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
A review on research and evaluation methods for investigating self-transcendence
Kitson, A., Chirico, A., Gaggioli, A., & Riecke, B. E. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.547687 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Mindfulness and the contemplative life: pathways to connection, insight, and purpose
Dahl, C. J., & Davidson, R. J. (2018) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.11.007 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Wong, P., Arslan, G., Bowers, V. L., Peacock, E., Kjell, O., Ivtzan, I., & Lomas, T. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648549 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
The role of social relational emotions for human-nature connectedness
Petersen, E., Fiske, A. P., & Schubert, T. W. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02759 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Influence of Awe on Green Consumption: The Mediating Effect of Psychological Ownership
Wang, L., Zhang, G., Shi, P., Lu, X., & Song, F. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02484 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Pizarro, J. J., Basabe, N., Fernández, I., Carrera, P., Apodaca, P., Ging, C. I. M., Cusi, O., & Páez, D. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.709859 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Curtin, M., Richards, H. L., & Fortune, D. G. (2022) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2022.102173 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Awe of nature and well-being: Roles of nature connectedness and powerlessness
Liu, J., Huo, Y., Wang, J., Bai, Y., Zhao, M., & Di, M. (2022) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2022.111946 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Self-citationMoving beyond disciplinary silos towards a transdisciplinary model of wellbeing: an invited review
Mead, J., Fisher, Z., & Kemp, A. H. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.642093 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Aldwin, C. M., Igarashi, H., & Levenson, M. R. (2019) · The Cambridge Handbook of Wisdom · doi:10.1017/9781108568272.007 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Stepanova, E. R., Desnoyers-Stewart, J., Pasquier, P., & Riecke, B. E. (2020) · Designing Interactive Systems Conference · doi:10.1145/3357236.3395532 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
It’s the motive that counts: Perceived sacrifice motives and gratitude in romantic relationships.
Visserman, M. L., Righetti, F., Impett, E. A., Keltner, D. J., & Lange, P. A. M. V. (2017) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/emo0000344 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Self-citationOliver, M. B., Raney, A. A., Bartsch, A., Janicke‐Bowles, S. H., Appel, M., & Dale, K. R. (2021) · Journal of Media Psychology Theories Methods and Applications · doi:10.1027/1864-1105/a000305 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Defining Transformative Experiences: A Conceptual Analysis
Chirico, A., Pizzolante, M., Kitson, A., Gianotti, E., Riecke, B. E., & Gaggioli, A. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.790300 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
What role do emotions play in transforming students’ environmental behaviour at school?
Ramírez, R. R., Medina, J., & McCallum, S. (2020) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120638 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Neural representations of awe: Distinguishing common and distinct neural mechanisms.
Takano, R., & Nomura, M. (2020) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/emo0000771 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
de Zavala, A. G. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00203 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Oriol, X., Miranda, R., Bazán, C., & Benavente, E. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00907 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Validation of the Gratitude/Awe Questionnaire and Its Association with Disposition of Gratefulness
Büssing, A., Recchia, D. R., & Baumann, K. (2018) · Religions · doi:10.3390/rel9040117 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Predicting the moral consideration of artificial intelligences
Pauketat, J. V. T., & Anthis, J. R. (2022) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2022.107372 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Stepanova, E. R., Quesnel, D. T., & Riecke, B. E. (2019) · Frontiers in Digital Humanities · doi:10.3389/fdigh.2019.00009 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Prosocial responses to COVID-19: Examining the role of gratitude, fairness and legacy motives
Syropoulos, S., & Markowitz, E. M. (2020) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2020.110488 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Awe in Advertising: The Mediating Role of an Abstract Mindset
Septianto, F., Seo, Y., Li, L., & Shi, L. (2021) · Journal of Advertising · doi:10.1080/00913367.2021.1931578 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Autonomic nervous system activity during positive emotions: a meta-analytic review
Behnke, M., Kreibig, S. D., Kaczmarek, L. D., Assink, M., & Gross, J. J. (2022) · Emotion Review · doi:10.1177/17540739211073084 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Kahn, A. S., & Cargile, A. C. (2021) · Human Communication Research · doi:10.1093/hcr/hqab007 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Islam, T., Wang, Y., Ali, A., & Akhtar, N. (2021) · Journal of Consumer Marketing · doi:10.1108/jcm-09-2020-4099 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Keltner, D., Sauter, D., Tracy, J. L., Wetchler, E., & Cowen, A. S. (2022) · Cognition and Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2022.2047009 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Self-citationAwe or horror: differentiating two emotional responses to schema incongruence
Taylor, P. M., & Uchida, Y. (2019) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2019.1578194 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Elevating nature: Moral elevation increases feelings of connectedness to nature
Moreton, S. G., Arena, A. F. A., Hornsey, M. J., Crimston, C. R., & Tiliopoulos, N. (2019) · Journal of Environmental Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2019.101332 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Liu, P., Wang, X., Li, D., Zhang, R., Li, H., & Han, J. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.630420 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Awe Sparks Prosociality in Children
Stamkou, E., Brummelman, E., Dunham, R. L., Nikolić, M., & Keltner, D. J. (2023) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/09567976221150616 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Self-citationAwe, spirituality and conspicuous consumer behavior
Jing, H., Yang, Y. X., Jing, F., & Nguyen, B. (2018) · International Journal of Consumer Studies · doi:10.1111/ijcs.12470 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Profiles of appraisal, motivation, and coping for positive emotions
Yih, J., Kirby, L. D., & Smith, C. A. (2019) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2019.1646212 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Rimé, B., & Páez, D. (2023) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/17456916221146388 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Compassion as a Skill: A Comparison of Contemplative and Evolution-Based Approaches
Gilbert, P., & Gordon, W. V. (2023) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-023-02173-w · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Condon, P., & Makransky, J. J. (2020) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691620922200 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Lange, J., & Zickfeld, J. (2021) · Emotion Review · doi:10.1177/1754073920988787 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Nature-inspired awe toward tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior intention intention
Xu, S., & Hu, Y.-O. (2023) · The Tourist Review · doi:10.1108/tr-12-2022-0617 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
The impact of gratitude (vs pride) on the effectiveness of cause-related marketing
Septianto, F., & Garg, N. (2021) · European Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1108/ejm-11-2019-0829 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Nature exposure and social health: Prosocial behavior, social cohesion, and effect pathways
Arbuthnott, K. D. (2023) · Journal of Environmental Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102109 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Stepanova, E. R., Quesnel, D. T., & Riecke, B. E. (2019) · Frontiers in Digital Humanities · doi:10.3389/fdigh.2019.00007 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Self-diminishing effects of awe on consumer forgiveness in service encounters
Yang, Y. X., & Jing, H. (2021) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102491 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Effects of post-trip eudaimonic reflections on affect, self-transcendence and philanthropy
Lengieza, M. L., Swim, J. K., & Hunt, C. A. (2019) · Service Industries Journal · doi:10.1080/02642069.2019.1636966 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Edara, I. R., Castillo, F. A. D., Ching, G. S., & del Castillo, C. D. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18126381 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Wang, Y. (2020) · Educational Administration Quarterly · doi:10.1177/0013161x20938856 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Liang, J., & Guo, L. (2021) · Psychology and Marketing · doi:10.1002/mar.21502 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Bridging the gap between emotion and joint action
Bieńkiewicz, M. M. N., Smykovskyi, A., Olugbade, T., Janaqi, S., Camurri, A., Bianchi‐Berthouze, N., Björkman, M., & Bardy, B. G. (2021) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.08.014 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Stavraki, M., Lamprinakos, G., Briñol, P., Petty, R. E., Karantinou, K., & Díaz, D. (2020) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2020.104085 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Zumeta, L. N., Castro-Abril, P., Méndez, L., Pizarro, J. J., Włodarczyk, A., Basabe, N., Navarro-Carrillo, G., Padoan-De Luca, S., da Costa, S., Alonso-Arbiol, I., et al. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.607538 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Self-Reflection at Work: Why It Matters and How to Harness Its Potential and Avoid Its Pitfalls
Kross, E. F., Ong, M., & Ayduk, Ö. N. (2023) · Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-031921-024406 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Dorfman, A., Oakes, H., Santos, H. C., & Grossmann, I. (2019) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/jopy.12534 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Rodrigues, A., Loureiro, S., & Prayag, G. (2021) · The international journal of tourism research · doi:10.1002/jtr.2507 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Zhao, C., Shang, Z., & Pan, Y. (2023) · Journal of Sustainable Tourism · doi:10.1080/09669582.2023.2238135 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Admiration for Islamist groups encourages self-sacrifice through identity fusion
Gómez, Á., Bélanger, J., Chinchilla, J., Vázquez, A., Schumpe, B., Nisa, C., & Chiclana, S. (2021) · Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · doi:10.1057/s41599-021-00734-9 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
A case study of a conservation flagship species: the monarch butterfly
Preston, S. D., Liao, J. D., Toombs, T. P., Romero‐Canyas, R., Speiser, J., & Seifert, C. M. (2021) · Biodiversity and Conservation · doi:10.1007/s10531-021-02183-x · Cited by 40 · see citing works
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Awe and guilt: Desirability and feasibility appeals in social media green campaigns
Kim, S., Childs, M. L., & Baek, T. H. (2023) · Journal of Consumer Behaviour · doi:10.1002/cb.2127 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Empathy and Exposure to Credible Religious Acts during Childhood Independently Predict Religiosity
Łowicki, P., & Zajenkowski, M. (2019) · International Journal for the Psychology of Religion · doi:10.1080/10508619.2019.1672486 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Luo, L., Zou, R., Yang, D., & Yuan, J. (2022) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2022.2131607 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Self-Transcendent Awe as a Moral Grounding of Wisdom
Keltner, D. J., & Piff, P. K. (2020) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1080/1047840x.2020.1750927 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Self-citationFeeling the intangible: antecedents of gratitude toward intangible benefactors
Tsang, J.-A. C., Schnitker, S. A., Emmons, R. A., & Hill, P. C. (2021) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2021.1952480 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
- Authors
- Stellar, J. E., Gordon, A. M., Piff, P. K., Cordaro, D., Anderson, C. L., Bai, Y., Maruskin, L. A., & Keltner, D.
- Affiliations
- University of Toronto (CA)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- University of California, Irvine (US)
- Yale University (US)
- San Francisco VA Medical Center (US)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- Corresponding author
- Stellar, Jennifer E.
- Venue
- Emotion Review
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2017-06-15
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 200-207
- ISSN
- 1754-0739 (ISSN-L)
- 1754-0747
- OpenAlex
- W2626605398
- Semantic Scholar
- 79bc14aa0a63a9a1ff2abc98ff9e96dbd432664f
- Cited by
- 696
- References
- 87
- Citations by year
- 2026: 79 · 2025: 121 · 2024: 100 · 2023: 82 · 2022: 85 · 2021: 75 · 2020: 84 · 2019: 42 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 5
- FWCI
- 60.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Emotion Review (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- John Templeton Foundation (88210, 95524)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Aesthetic Perception and Analysis
- Keywords
- self-transcendent emotions, compassion, gratitude, awe, prosocial behavior, social functions of emotion, positive emotions, expressive behavior, physiological responses, evolutionary origins of emotion, cooperation, group coordination, caregiving
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