ISSN 0439-755X
CN 11-1911/B
主办:中国心理学会
   中国科学院心理研究所
出版:科学出版社

心理学报 ›› 2025, Vol. 57 ›› Issue (12): 2220-2241.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2025.2220 cstr: 32110.14.2025.2220

• 研究报告 • 上一篇    下一篇

敬畏影响不同社会经济地位者亲社会性的心理机制

胡小勇1(), 赵越2, 冀月欣1, 马佳馨3   

  1. 1 武汉大学心理学系, 武汉 430072
    2 清华大学心理与认知科学系, 北京 100084
    3 西南大学心理学部, 重庆 400715
  • 收稿日期:2024-07-10 发布日期:2025-09-28 出版日期:2025-12-25
  • 通讯作者: 胡小勇, E-mail: huxiaoyong@whu.edu.cn
  • 作者简介:第一联系人:

    胡小勇和赵越为共同第一作者。

  • 基金资助:
    国家社会科学基金西部项目(23XSH003)

The influence of awe on prosociality: Psychological mechanisms across higher and lower SES individuals

HU Xiaoyong1(), ZHAO Yue2, JI Yuexin1, MA Jiaxin3   

  1. 1 Department of Psychology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
    2 Department of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
    3 Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
  • Received:2024-07-10 Online:2025-09-28 Published:2025-12-25

摘要: 敬畏拥有着超越一般积极情绪的力量, 能够提高个体的亲社会性。本研究基于小我假说、真我假说以及阶层的社会认知理论, 探讨敬畏影响亲社会性的心理机制及其在不同社会经济地位者中的差异。通过五项涵盖问卷调查、日记法和实验法的研究, 结果表明:敬畏显著正向预测个体的亲社会行为, 小我与真我在其中起到平行中介作用; 敬畏对小我的影响在低社会经济地位者中更加显著, 敬畏对真我的影响在高社会经济地位者中更加显著; 高社会经济地位者通过真我的中介作用显著提升亲社会性; 进一步的机制检验发现, 低社会经济地位者更倾向于通过能力型敬畏激活小我路径, 而高社会经济地位者则倾向于通过审美型敬畏激活真我路径, 进而增强其亲社会行为。本研究为充分发挥敬畏的潜在干预作用, 特别是推动以慈善捐赠为核心的第三次分配战略, 提供了新的理论视角与实证依据。

关键词: 敬畏, 社会经济地位, 小我, 真我, 亲社会性

Abstract:

Awe is widely recognized as a prosocial emotion that can foster a concern for others’ welfare. Theoretical and empirical research suggests that awe enhances prosociality by diminishing the focus on the individual self (a “small self”) and encouraging the pursuit of a more “authentic self”, which is in alignment with one’s core values. However, the relationship between these two mechanisms-the small self and the authentic self-requires further examination, particularly due to their contrasting nature. Furthermore, existing research presents mixed findings on how awe’s impact varies across different socioeconomic status (SES) groups. There is also a lack of studies exploring whether SES influences how individuals experience different types of awe. To address these gaps, this research, encompassing five studies with a total of 1,114 participants, investigates the parallel indirect effects of awe on prosociality through the mechanisms of the small self and the pursuit of the authentic self. It also examines the moderating role of SES on these two mediating pathways. Additionally, the studies explore how SES affects the frequency and consequences of various types of awe experiences.
Study 1 utilized a large-scale survey to investigate the fundamental relationship between awe and prosociality, testing the mediating roles of the small self and the pursuit of the authentic self. Study 2a, a 14-day diary study, examined how SES moderates the influence of daily awe experiences on the small self and the pursuit of the authentic self. Study 2b experimentally manipulated SES and awe to test the moderating effect of SES on the two mediating mechanisms and to assess SES-based differences in the frequency of aesthetic versus ability-based awe experiences. Studies 3a and 3b manipulated SES and specific types of awe (aesthetic, ability-based, or a general positive emotion) to further test the moderating role of SES on the mediating effects of different awe types on prosociality.
The findings reveal that awe has a significant positive indirect effect on prosociality through the parallel mechanisms of the small self and the pursuit of the authentic self (Study 1). SES was found to moderate the positive effects of awe on both mechanisms (Studies 2a and 2b). Specifically, the experience of a “small self” was more pronounced among lower-SES individuals, while the pursuit of an “authentic self” was more significant for higher-SES individuals, with both pathways leading to increased prosociality. Lower-SES individuals reported more frequent experiences of awe related to ability and threat, whereas higher-SES individuals reported more frequent aesthetic awe (Study 2a). Finally, SES also moderated the effects of different types of awe on the two psychological mechanisms (Studies 3a and 3b). For lower-SES individuals, ability-based awe had a more significant effect on the small self, although this did not translate to a significant impact on prosocial variables. In contrast, for higher-SES individuals, aesthetic awe more strongly promoted the pursuit of an authentic self, which in turn positively influenced their prosociality.
These studies clarify the dual mechanisms through which awe influences prosociality and situate their relationship within a comprehensive self-framework. The research also provides a deeper understanding of the mixed findings regarding SES’s moderation of awe’s effect on prosociality, suggesting that these inconsistencies may be linked to the psychological mechanisms that are most prominent under different social conditions. The findings highlight the unique roles of ability-based and aesthetic awe in triggering distinct psychological responses in lower and higher-SES individuals, respectively. Therefore, inducing specific types of awe experiences tailored to different SES groups could be a potential intervention for promoting prosocial behavior. These results contribute to a more nuanced understanding of awe’s important role as a positive emotion in fostering prosociality.

Key words: awe, socioeconomic status (SES), small self, authentic-self pursuit, prosociality

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