The Relationship Between Awe and Prosocial Behavior: A Three-Level Meta-Analysis

Awe, a positive moral emotion linked to self-transcendence, has an inconsistent relationship with prosocial behavior (PsB). This study employs three-level meta-analytic techniques to investigate this relationship, reviewing thirty papers with 91 effect sizes and 27,407 individuals. Results show a strong positive correlation between awe and PsB (r = 0.40, SE = 0.04), with both dispositional and state awe positively associated with prosocial actions. Positive and negative awe experiences also correlated positively with PsB. Sharing and volunteering had the strongest correlation with awe, while helping behaviors had the weakest. The correlation between awe and PsB increased with a higher percentage of female participants but did not rise with higher individualism scores. This three-level meta-analysis provides a comprehensive understanding of the awe-PsB relationship, yielding reliable conclusions.