Awe Psychology (WONDER) with Dacher Keltner
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Oh, look at this. This is a special episode of Ologies I'm very excited about. And it's brought to you by the lovely vacation rental service, Vrbo. And today, this is all about awe, as you have probably noticed from the title. And we're going to talk about exactly what awe is. But you've probably felt it if you've ever stopped in your tracks to go, whoa, and felt connected to something bigger. Especially if you've ever seen something you've never seen before or you've traveled. Travel is one of the easiest ways to really stock up on those awe-filled moments and share it with other people.
What is the significance of awe in our lives?
So we're going to talk about how that works in the brain, actually. And Vrbo, thank you for sponsoring this. They make it easy to bring your people together in one place. So you can actually share those experiences. And they work hard to get everything right before you arrive. And if something does go wrong, Vrbo Care and 24-7 customer support are there to help make it right. The people on your trip are full of surprises, not your Vrbo. So book your next stay on the Vrbo app. I just did, literally. Oh, hey, it's the sidewalk chicken bone your dog yearns for. Allie Ward, this episode is nearly a decade in the making. I don't even want to waste time on an intro, but I'm going to roll through this ologist's cred as fast as I can.
Ph.D., Stanford University, cool as hell dude, distinguished professor of psychology at UC Berkeley's Social Interaction Laboratory, chill, founder and co-director of the Greater Good Science Center, author of several textbooks and books just for regular people. Most recently, a book called Awe, The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life. Also, very nice, host of the dazzling podcast, The Science of Happiness, worked to stop solitary confinement at San Quentin Prison, researcher whose papers have been cited over 100,000 times. So... After years, years of hoping to have him on all of these, the schedule's just being difficult to wrangle, we finally joined up by video call.
And despite all of his awards and life-changing work, he just... Hopped on casually. He's got chin length, blonde hair, a very easy aura. You could easily mistake him for a guy who spends his days drumming bongos on a beach. But he is very busy. And I was thrilled to finally meet him and chat about awe. And the word awe, it shares a root, of course, with awesome and also awful. But like all words, there's been a lot of elasticity over time. And this ologist has defined the word awe as a perceived vastness, or more specifically, as he recalls in his books, defining it with early colleagues, awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your current understanding of the world.
So let's get into it and we're going to discuss awe's origins in the brain, where to find awe, noticing it when you feel it, novel experiences, boulevards, graffiti, modern day connections, how a dark sky can change a life, goosebumps at concerts, why remembering awe can fix your day, how even the toughest moments of life can be awe-filled, getting an elbow thrown at you in good fun, and why thinking about lettuce can make me cry. with author, professor, researcher, podcast host, and really cool guy who is changing how we think about mental health, Dr. Dacher Keltner.
Deckard Keltner, he and him.
I know that you know a lot about facial expressions. And so it's nice to be on video with you. You have studied facial expressions. And I'm wondering when you're talking about awe, how do we recognize it in other people and in ourselves? Is it just like a dropped jaw? What's going on?
Yeah, you know, and it's actually a really deep question because awe is often for people when they experience it, it's ineffable. It's hard to describe. It's so amazing. It's beyond your knowledge. Like, how in the world can we make sense of this? And so one way that we know someone else is experiencing awe is through what I've studied for 35 years in the spirit of Paul Ekman and Charles Darwin, which is the face, like...
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:34
2
What is the significance of awe in our lives?
0:34–17:45
3
How does awe affect our mental health?
17:45–23:29
4
What are the physiological signs of experiencing awe?
23:29–29:19
5
How can we recognize awe in ourselves and others?
29:19–39:01
6
In what ways can awe enhance our relationships?
39:01–39:14
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Ologies with Alie Ward
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