Thinking Outside of Yourself: The Potential of Awe in Mitigating Psychological Reactance Via Inspiring Self-Transcendence

Awe, a self-transcendent emotion that can transform our egocentric perspective, has the potential to reduce the resistance to freedom-threatening messages. However, no research has yet offered empirical evidence in health and environmental communication contexts. The present research aims to bridge this gap by explicating whether and how awe alleviates psychological reactance induced by threat-to-freedom messages. We conducted a survey (N = 353, Study 1) and an online experiment (N = 419, Study 2) to examine whether trait awe and video-induced state awe can improve persuasion outcomes by mitigating psychological reactance. Results showed that trait awe was negatively associated with trait reactance. Additionally, state awe dampened state reactance by elevating self-transcendence and diminishing the perceptions of threat to freedom and reactance, which improved one's attitudes toward the message advocacy and behavioral intentions. However, this effect was only supported with the issue of climate change rather than sun protection. Theoretical contributions and practical implications for leveraging awe appeal in strategic communication are discussed.