Awe promotes altruistic behavior by enhancing the sense of the small self. However, this mediation mechanism has not been consistently replicated, possibly due to variations in the types of awe. No studies have directly examined whether the mediation of the sense of the small self between awe and altruistic behavior holds true in general, or is specific to a certain type of awe induction. Here, we describe an experiment aimed to address this issue.

Two hundred and thirty-five participants were randomly assigned to different emotion groups, including natural awe, social awe, spiritual awe, amusement, and neutrality. After emotional manipulation, the participants were informed of a student’s misfortune and asked to decide how much of their experimental compensation money (RMB 50) they would donate.

We observed a promoting effect of awe induction on monetary donation in general, and this effect was similar across the three types of awe. Further mediation analysis indicated that natural awe, uniquely promoted altruistic behavior via the mediation role of the small self.

The current study demonstrates the novel insight that, although the different types of awe induction similarly promote altruistic behavior, only natural awe promotes altruistic behavior through increasing sense of the small self.