Awe, innovation, and choice: A conceptual analysis
Dacher Keltner
Abstract
Markets are shaped by innovation and choice. Drawing upon advances in the scientific study of awe, in this article I present a model that details how experiences of this emotion shape innovation and choice. I first detail the latest science on awe, which finds it to be distinct from closely related states, like beauty, interest, admiration, and fear, and that orients individuals to rigorous, systems‐based, meaning‐making thought, and actions that enhance social integration. I then summarize how awe leads to a mental state of wonder and curiosity, a fertile ground for the creation of cultural forms through acts of innovation. As illustrations, I consider how awe leads to creative representation, symbolic expression, ritualization, and object design. To the extent that these cultural creations are touched by awe, I then reason, they will fare well in terms of choice, a process whose discussion is the concern in the last section of this article.
8 citations
Evidence weight
Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40
| F · citation impact | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
| M · momentum | 0.70 × 0.15 = 0.10 |
| V · venue signal | 0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03 |
| R · text relevance † | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.