Honesty-Humility and dispositional awe in Confucian culture: The mediating role of Zhong-Yong thinking style

Dispositional awe refers to the tendency or trait of awe that is a universal and complex human experience. However, the factors influencing this awe have rarely been addressed. For the first time, the current study explores the relationship between Honesty-Humility (H-H) and dispositional awe and the mediating role of a Zhong-Yong thinking style (ZY) in Confucian culture. A large sample of 2377 Chinese undergraduates ranging from 18 to 26 years old (mean: 20.7 years, SD = 1.7) was recruited via a cluster sampling. As predicted, H-H was positively correlated with dispositional awe, and this relationship was mediated by ZY. Though H-H was not significantly and directly correlated with dispositional awe in males, multiple-group structural equation modeling supported gender invariance in its direct and mediating effects. The implication of this study has been discussed.