Awe is a profound, self-transcendent emotion. To illuminate its origin, four preregistered studies examined how U.S. 4- to 9-year-old children perceive awe-inspiring stimuli (N = 444, 55% female, 58% White, tested in 2020–2023). Awe-inspiring expansive nature (Study 1) and natural disaster scenes (Study 2) evoked perceived vastness, motivation to explore, and awareness of the unknown more than everyday scenes did (d ranging 0.32–1.76). Compared to expansive social stimuli, expansive nature stimuli more positively affected children's sense of self (Study 3). Diverse awe-inspiring scenes (vast nature, natural disasters, and slow-motion objects) all elicited awe and higher learning motivation than everyday scenes did (Study 4). These findings suggest that children appreciate awe-inspiring visual experiences, illuminating the origins and nature of awe as a self-transcendent experience.

中文翻译：

---

敬畏之心：孩子们如何感知令人敬畏的视觉体验

敬畏是一种深刻的、自我超越的情感。为了阐明其起源，四项预先注册的研究调查了美国 4 至 9 岁儿童如何感知令人敬畏的刺激（N  = 444，55% 女性，58% 白人，于 2020 年至 2023 年进行测试）。令人敬畏的广阔自然（研究 1）和自然灾害场景（研究 2）比日常场景更能唤起人们的广阔感、探索动机和对未知的认识（d范围为 0.32-1.76）。与广泛的社会刺激相比，广泛的自然刺激对儿童的自我意识有更积极的影响（研究 3）。各种令人敬畏的场景（广阔的大自然、自然灾害和慢动作物体）都比日常场景更能引起敬畏和更高的学习动机（研究4）。这些发现表明，孩子们欣赏令人惊叹的视觉体验，阐明了敬畏作为一种自我超越体验的起源和本质。