DePaul University Via Sapientiae College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations College of Science and Health Spring 6-8-2018 Assessing the Experience of Awe: Validating the Situational Awe Scale William L. Krenzer DePaul University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/csh_etd Part of the Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Krenzer, William L., "Assessing the Experience of Awe: Validating the Situational Awe Scale" (2018). College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations. 261. https://via.library.depaul.edu/csh_etd/261 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Science and Health at Via Sapientiae. It has been accepted for inclusion in College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Via Sapientiae. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Assessing the Experience of Awe: Validating the Situational Awe Scale A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By William Leo Donald Krenzer June, 2018 Department of Psychology College of Science and Health DePaul University Chicago, Illinois Dissertation Committee Kimberly A. Quinn, PhD, Chair Leah E. Bryant, PhD Verena Graupmann, PhD Sheila-Krogh-Jespersen, PhD Elizabeth Millan, PhD i Acknowledgments This journey to completing my PhD could not have been possible without two major people in my life. The first is Dr. Allison Berryhill, my amazing wife, without your steady support and love I surely would not be where I am today. The other is Dr. Kimberly Quinn, my advisor and friend, without your guidance and belief in me I would not have been able to make it to the end of this. You are both amazingly powerful women, and I am lucky to have you in my life. Thank you for your support over these past four years, without it I would not be writing this section of my dissertation. In fact, I wouldn’t be writing any section of my dissertation. Seriously! ii Biography The author was born in Garden City, South Carolina, August 7, 1987. He graduated from Freedom High School, in Oakley, California, in 2005. He received a Certificate of Completion’s in Culinary Arts, Baking and Pastry, and Hotel Restaurant Management from the Culinary Arts program at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California in 2008. Additionally, he received an Associate of Science degree (Culinary Arts) and Associate of Arts degree (Transfer Studies) from Diablo Valley College in 2010. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from San Francisco State University in 2012, and his Master of Arts degree in Mind, Brain, and Behavior (Psychology) from San Francisco State University in 2014. iii Table of Contents Dissertation Committee ........................................................................................... i Acknowledgments................................................................................................... ii Biography ............................................................................................................... iii List of Tables .......................................................................................................... x List of Figures ........................................................................................................ xi Abstract ................................................................................................................... 1 Assessing the Experience of Awe: Validating the Situational Awe Scale ............. 3 Defining Awe ...................................................................................................... 3 Philosophical conceptualizations of awe. ....................................................... 4 Religious and spiritual conceptualizations of awe. ......................................... 7 Psychological conceptualizations of awe. ....................................................... 8 Awe as a two-factor emotion. ...................................................................... 9 Physiological correlates of awe. ................................................................ 10 Awe’s unique expression. .......................................................................... 10 Awe as a Correlate of Prosociality, Wellbeing, and Motivation to Learn ........ 11 Awe promotes prosociality. ....................................................................... 11 Awe is associated with greater wellbeing. ................................................. 13 Awe may act as a catalyst for learning. ..................................................... 14 Defining and Measuring Awe ........................................................................... 15 Dispositional awe. ......................................................................................... 15 Situational awe. ............................................................................................. 16 The Current Research: Constructing and Validating a New Measure .............. 17 Study 1: Construction and Preliminary Validation of the SAS ............................ 20 Research Question ............................................................................................ 20 Research question I. ...................................................................................... 20 Hypotheses ........................................................................................................ 20 Hypothesis I. ................................................................................................. 20 Hypothesis Ia. ............................................................................................ 20 Hypothesis Ib. ............................................................................................ 21 Hypothesis II. ................................................................................................ 21 iv Hypothesis IIa. ........................................................................................... 21 Hypothesis IIb. ........................................................................................... 21 Hypothesis IIc. ........................................................................................... 21 Hypothesis IId. ........................................................................................... 21 Method .............................................................................................................. 21 Participants. ................................................................................................... 21 Procedure and materials. ............................................................................... 22 Describing awe........................................................................................... 23 Small-self awe. ........................................................................................... 23 Situational awe. .......................................................................................... 24 Dispositional awe. ...................................................................................... 25 Wellbeing. .................................................................................................. 25 Results ............................................................................................................... 26 Exploratory factor analysis. .......................................................................... 26 Liberation/connection. ............................................................................... 30 Oppression/isolation. ................................................................................. 30 Chills. ......................................................................................................... 30 Small-self/vast-world. ................................................................................ 31 Convergent validity. ...................................................................................... 31 Criterion validity. .......................................................................................... 33 Discussion ......................................................................................................... 34 Study 2: Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Additional Validation ..................... 36 Hypotheses ........................................................................................................ 36 Hypothesis I. ................................................................................................. 36 Hypothesis Ia. ............................................................................................ 36 Hypothesis II. ................................................................................................ 36 Hypothesis IIa. ........................................................................................... 37 Hypothesis IIb. ........................................................................................... 37 Hypothesis III................................................................................................ 37 Hypothesis IIIa. .......................................................................................... 37 Hypothesis IIIb........................................................................................... 37 Hypothesis IIIc. .......................................................................................... 37 v Hypothesis IIId..........................................................................................