Raising Our Gaze: Countering Uncertainty with Awe

As humans, we do not like uncertainty. It is hard for our brains to deal with, and can make stressful situations even harder by causing anxiety (i). This, in turn, narrows our ‘window of tolerance’ (ii) and can make it more difficult to deal with everyday stressors and major events. We are nearly two years into the pandemic and we are still not certain what our new normal looks like—when we think we might have reached that point, something changes which throws us back into those feelings of uncertainty. In many ways this has not only narrowed our windows of tolerance but our worlds too. From hard lockdowns with limited reasons to leave the house to not being able to travel to see loved ones, the pandemic has made the circles in which we move smaller. A growing body of research suggests that one way to mitigate the impacts of uncertainty and the anxiety it produces is to look beyond our immediate environment and focus on the things that bring us wonder and awe (iii). While this body of research is relatively new, it has shown that getting outside and looking up from our devices and out into the natural world can result in less distress. (iv)

As we continue to discover what our new normal will be, the end of the year is a good time to recognise how awe and wonder can help us not only navigate through continuing uncertainty but also improve our experience of work and research. To this end, I interviewed Dr Megan Cuzzolino at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) about her research on awe. (v).

Could you tell me a little bit about yourself and your work?

I am the Senior Project Manager for the Next Level Lab, a research group at the HGSE that draws on research from the learning sciences and innovative instructional design to address emerging and urgent issues in K-12 education and workforce development.

I earned my doctorate in Human Development and Education from HGSE, where my dissertation research focused on the emotion of awe and its role in scientific learning and discovery. More broadly, I tend to conduct research that focuses on the relationship between learners and the social and emotional contexts in which their learning takes place.

Why is awe important?

Evidence suggests that there are many benefits to experiencing awe, including stimulating our curiosity and motivating us to act in ways that support the wellbeing of the collective. And though it's still speculative, some early research indicates that awe may even have a positive impact on our immune systems.

What role does awe play in our lives?

Awe falls into a category of emotions called the ‘epistemic emotions’. These are the ‘finding out’ emotions like curiosity, surprise, and wonder that make us aware of gaps in our understanding and motivate us to learn more. Researchers also classify awe as a ‘collective emotion’, because it draws our attention to our role within phenomena, systems, or communities that are larger than ourselves.

Are there benefits to taking time to notice moments that inspire awe?

Many of my study participants remarked that the interview process itself heightened their awareness of the impact that awe has had on their personal and professional lives. In the moment, I think that taking time to notice awe-inspiring events can be a nice chance to pause, take a deep

breath, and gain some perspective. More long-term, a regular reflection practice that involves documenting moments of awe and considering their impact can help translate those feelings into action. For instance, you might ask yourself, "How did that experience make me think about myself and my relationship to something larger?"

What does your research tell us about awe in science?

I don't think we talk enough about the human side of science, how much emotions play a role in the research process, and how challenging and isolating the work can be. The interview quote that sticks with me more than any other is, "There's so much drudgery, that if you don't hang on to those moments [of awe], I don't know what else you hang on to." Unfortunately, institutional pressures to publish, get funding, and so on don't always support the kind of work that can lead to awe or allow researchers the time and space to reflect on their awe experiences. I also think there are concerns that expressing emotions can be seen as overly vulnerable or even ‘unscientific’. I'd love to see institutional norms shift such that we all feel more comfortable acknowledging that scientific research is conducted by real people who have real emotional reactions to their work.

How can awe improve our research or work?

In my research on the awe experiences of professional scientists, I found that feelings of awe were often elicited by moments of discovery—that experience of unlocking some new secret of the universe, no matter how small or insignificant the finding might seem. Critically, participants told me that this feeling of awe served as a powerful antidote to the daily grind of research work. Scientists were willing to persist through long hours, low pay, and failure after failure in part because of the promise, or hope, that they would eventually achieve their next aweinspiring ‘a-ha moment’.

What surprises you or your research subjects the most about awe?

In addition to the awe that came from individual moments of discovery, participants in my research identified a sense of awe that came from perceiving themselves as members of the larger scientific community.

Personally, as someone who has spent years involved in research on outer space and politics, awe has played in important role in my ability to stay excited about the work and its importance. Policy can sometimes seem far removed from the application of it, but moments like seeing the first picture of Pluto’s heart from New Horizons (vi) or the way the sound of a rocket launch physically washes over you as you watch a spacecraft human hands made leave Earth forever (vii) stay with you and allow you to see the bigger picture of your work. Clinicians in both our professions have faced unprecedented times over the pandemic and, like other members of the healthcare workforce, are facing many personal and professional challenges. However, taking time to recognise the moments in our work or our research that produce wonder and awe may help us persist and deal with the challenges of living in uncertain times.

Dr Kat Robison

References

I. Uncertainty and anticipation in anxiety: an integrated neurobiological and psychological perspective | Nature Reviews Neuroscience, https://www.nature.com/articles/ nrn3524

II. GoodTherapy | Window of Tolerance, https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/window-of-tolerance

III. Eight Reasons Why Awe Makes Your Life Better (berkeley.edu) https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/eight_reasons_why_awe_makes_your_life_better

IV. Big smile, small self: Awe walks promote prosocial positive emotions in older adults. - PsycNET (apa.org) https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-69974-001?doi=1

V. “The Awe is In the Process”: The nature and impact of professional scientists' experiences of awe - Cuzzolino - 2021 - Science Education - Wiley Online Library https:// onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/sce.21625

VI. pluto-planet-heart-color-image.png (1042×1042) (nasa.gov) https://mars.nasa.gov/imgs/2015/07/pluto-planet-heart-color-image.png

VII. #207: Rocket Lovesong “We stood, heads raised to... | Consider This Thought (tumblr.com) https://considerthisthought.tumblr.com/post/81535729303/207-rocketlovesong-we-stood-heads-raised-to