Unveiling the underlying structure of awe in virtual reality and in autobiographical recall: an exploratory study

Over the last two decades, awe has attracted increasing research attention. Virtual reality (VR) and autobiographical recall are effective methods for eliciting awe, but prior measures have struggled to reveal the experience’s latent structure. The Awe Experience Scale (AWE-S), validated in English, provides a comprehensive multidimensional measure. In a two-phase study, we examined whether the latent structure of awe evoked via autobiographical recall (Study 1) overlaps with that induced by exposure to validated awe-eliciting VR training (Study 2) in an Italian sample. The original English AWE-S structure held in both autobiographical recall and VR-based elicitation. Despite structural overlap between English and Italian versions, low correlations were found between Italian trait measures employed for concurrent validity and AWE-S state dimensions. Findings highlight cultural differences in awe experience and trait–state variations, and inform standardized induction of awe in simulated environments.

Alice Chirico, Francesca Borghesi, David B. Yaden, Marta Pizzolante, Eleonora Diletta Sarcinella, Pietro Cipresso, Andrea Gaggioli