Why Dazzling the World Can Help Memory and Make Us More Generous

Since most of us are intermittently surprised, we still don’t know its benefits. When we are sad, we may seek relief from comedy, for example – looking for feelings of fun that are much less powerful.

But generating dread can lead to a major mental shift. Therefore, it can be an essential tool for improving our health and well-being. There are many ways to develop these feelings in our daily lives.

Michelle Chiuta, a professor of social psychology at Arizona State University in the US, was one of the pioneers in discovering the benefits of awe. His particular interest lies in the ways he can remove “mental filters” to encourage greater flexibility in thinking.

Let’s think about memory. If someone tells us a story, we usually remember what we think we should have heard rather than the specifics of the event. This may indicate that we are missing out on unusual or unexpected items that add clarity and privacy needed to understand what happened. We can even form false memories of events that don’t exist, but we think they could have happened in this kind of situation.

A few years ago, Shiota decided to study whether arousing a sense of wonder could prevent this. I asked the participants, first, to watch one of three videos: a science film that inspires awe, taking viewers on a journey from outer space to subatomic particles; Thriller film about a snowboarder who won an Olympic gold medal; Or a neutral film about the construction of a cinder block wall.

The participants then listened to a five-minute story describing a couple going out for a romantic dinner and answered questions about what they had heard. Some of these questions referred to events typically expected at a meal (“Did the waiter serve wine?”), while others referred to unusual information, such as whether the waiter wore glasses.

To confirm the hypothesis formulated by Shiota, participants who watched the science film remembered more accurately the details they heard than those who watched the neutral or encouraging film.

What could be the reason? Shiota points out that the brain is constantly making predictions about what will happen next. He uses his experiences to shape the mental stimuli that guide our perception, attention, and behavior.

Experiences that inspire awe—with their sense of grandeur, dread, and awe—can confound these expectations, creating a “little earthquake” in the mind that prompts the brain to redefine its assumptions and pay more attention to what is really ahead.

“The brain reprograms the ‘prediction code’ to simply look around and gather information,” she says. In addition to expanding our memory for details, this can improve critical thinking, according to Shiota, as people pay more attention to the nuances of an argument rather than relying on their intuition to convince themselves or not.

This ability to let go of assumptions and look at the world and its problems from a new perspective may also explain why these feelings contribute to increased creativity. There is a study by Alice Chirico and colleagues at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, Italy, published in 2018.

Participants who walked through the woods in virtual reality scored higher on tests of original reasoning than those who watched a more common video of chickens roaming in the grass. Exclamation-inspired participants were more creative when asked how to improve a children’s game, for example.

The most transformative effects of awe can refer to the way we view ourselves.

When we marvel at something truly amazing and great, “we see ourselves as smaller and less important than the rest of the world,” says Shiota. One result is increased altruism.

“When I am less focused on myself, my goals and needs, and the thoughts in my head, I am more able to observe you and [perceber] what you might live through,” she says.

To measure these effects, a team led by Paul Beiff of the University of California, Irvine, USA, asked a third of the participants to watch a five-minute clip of the BBC’s Planet Earth series, made up of stunning photographs and sweeping landscapes, mountains, plains, forests and valleys. The rest watched a five-minute clip of funny animal videos or a neutral do-it-yourself video.

Next, the participants rated how much they agreed with four statements, such as “I feel there is something bigger than me” and “I feel small and insignificant.” Finally, they took part in an experiment known as the “dictator’s game,” where they were given a resource — in this case, 10 raffle coupons on a $100 gift card — that they could share or not share with a partner. , if they so desire.

Feelings of awe led to a significant change in the generosity of participants, and an increase in the number of vouchers shared with partners. The statistical analyzes that followed allowed the researchers to establish that this was caused by changes in how they feel about themselves. The smaller the participants felt, the more generous they were.

To replicate the discovery in a more natural setting, a researcher took the students for a walk through a Tasmanian eucalyptus grove – which grows to more than 60 metres. While the students stared at the splendor of the trees, the researchers “accidentally” dropped the pens they were holding and watched the participants offer to pick them up.

They felt quite confident that the participants were more helpful during this amazing walk than the students who spent their time staring at a tall but not very imposing building.

On top of all of that, the benefits to our mental health are enormous. It is caused, like increased generosity, by a reduced sense of self, which appears to reduce ruminant thinking.

This is potentially very important because rumination is a known risk factor for depression, anxiety, and PTSD. “Often you get so focused on the situation that you don’t think about anything else,” says Ethan Cross, who authors the book. Gossip: The Voice in Our Heads, Why It Matters and How to Harness It (“Discussion: The Voice in Your Head, Why It Matters, and How to Master It”) explores the effects of these negative self-talk.

Fascination forces us to broaden our perspective, he says, in order to interrupt the cycle of rumination. “When you are in the presence of something vast and unspeakable, you feel better as your negative talk diminishes,” he says.

To prove his point, Cross points to an unusual experiment carried out by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States. Participants were veterans and young adults from disadvantaged communities, many of whom were experiencing serious life stress (even with persistent PTSD symptoms).

They all previously signed up for a white water rafting trip on the Verde River in Utah, United States, sponsored by a charitable organization. Before and after the trip, they were asked about their general mental health, including their feelings of stress and their ability to meet life’s challenges. After each day of rowing, participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire, rating their feelings of surprise, fun, contentment, gratitude, joy, and pride.

As expected, the trip in general was very interesting for most of the participants. But it was the feeling of amazement that indicated the most significant improvements in her stress and overall well-being.

Obviously, these were exceptional circumstances, but the researchers noted very similar effects in a second study that examined students’ daily contact with nature. Again, they found that experiences of amazement had a greater effect on students’ long-term well-being than feelings of contentment, joy, gratitude, joy, and pride.

Before this research explodes, Shiota cautions that scientists have yet to examine whether these strong emotions have any negative effects. You suspect, for example, that this questioning might explain the appeal of many conspiracy theories — with their complex and ambiguous explanations of how the world works. But in general, the benefits of questioning should be considered whenever we feel that our thinking has become stuck in an unproductive or harmful path.

“Ability [que temos] Cross says that getting outside ourselves is a very valuable technique.” He believes that walking in his neighborhood park and contemplating space travel brings the necessary feelings of awe, respect, and respect, but notes that each of us will have our own personal preferences. Determine what your triggers are,” he suggests.

For Michele Chiota, the possibilities are as endless as the universe. “The stars in the night sky remind us of a universe beyond our experience. The sound of the ocean reminds us of its immense depths; and wonderful sunsets remind us of how wide and thick the atmosphere around our planet is,” she says. Not to mention the wonderful experiences that music, cinema or art can offer.

“It’s all about experiencing and paying attention to the extraordinary things around us, not what is routine for us,” she concluded.

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