“They say there are five senses... We’ve untapped a sixth, center stage. Take-off into the extraordinary. Feel unstoppable goosebumps. Live indescribable moments. Catch a rare thrill. All that you feel is pure, incredible, AWE.”
What is
The word “awe” has been around for nearly a millennium.
Despite being widespread in our lexicon with phrases such as awe inspiring, awesome and awe-struck, the illusive and mysterious emotion continues to spark wonder and curiosity.
“We think there are many ways to feel awe... basking in a multi-colored sunset, soaring through the air in a free-falling skydive or standing struck by the beauty of a master artist’s museum painting...”
AWE is:
Pulse-pumping
Hair-raising
Transformative
Inspirational
Experiential
Emotional
Exciting
Uplifting
AWE may ultimately be what drives our desire to take-off into the extraordinary and live indescribable moments.
Unlocking the mysteries of
Guided by the desire to recognize what drives people to pursue meaningful, pulse-pumping life experiences and understand how people feel when they see a Cirque du Soleil live performance, Cirque du Soleil partnered with renowned creative neuroscience group Lab of Misfits, lead by human emotion/perceptions expert Dr. Beau Lotto, to conduct an ambitious study of awe.
The Study
The EEG
During 10 different Cirque du Soleil performances of “O” in Las Vegas, a total of 280 audience members wore state-of-the-art EEG “brain caps,” enabling study administrators to record the neural responses of 23 different “awe moments” during the show.
Feelings of awe
All participants were asked to respond to a series of perception and psychological experiments before and after the show or were prompted via an iPad to report any feelings of awe, providing scientists with deeper psychological and behavioral insights related to awe.
Psychological test
Following “O” performances, participants were given what is called an “Identification With All Humanity” (IWAH) psychological test. They were asked to position a circle identified as “self” within proximity to another circle described as other audience members or wider social groups.
The results of
The findings uncovered powerful and potentially far-reaching dimensions, suggesting that awe may ultimately be what drives our desire to step forward into a world of uncertainty in a fearless search for answers. Moreover, the study suggests that experiencing awe enables an apparent ability to raise our risk tolerance, increase our social behavior and can even reframe who we believe we were in the past.
The findings
The Disruptive Power of Awe
Awe packs enough disruptive punch to pull show-goers into a shared experience that make audience members feel more emotionally connected to the people around them, turning the performances into a form of spectacular group hug, rather than an isolated, individually experienced entertainment moment.
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Sparks pro-social behavior and a more open point of view
Following “O” performances, participants were given what is called an “Identification With All Humanity” (IWAH) psychological test. They were asked to position a circle identified as “self” within proximity to another circle described as other audience members or wider social groups. Those who had experienced awe during the show tended to place the “self” circle closer in proximity to the “wider group” circle, suggesting that those who are “in awe” may become more open and inviting to the outside world and feel more empathetic overall.
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Ability to raise our risk tolerance and leap into the unknown
During a post-show experiment called the BART test (Balloon Analogue Risk Task), which involved the pumping up of a computer-generated balloon, subjects were asked to push a button to inflate a balloon as much as possible before it popped. The more people risked blowing up the balloon the more play money they would earn, but only if it didn’t pop. Each balloon, however, was calibrated to pop at different pressure points, making it impossible to predict and increasing the element of risk.
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Reframe our past and
recalibrate our future
Perhaps the most striking study discovery was awe’s apparent ability to recalibrate our feelings about the future and reshape our perceptions about the past.
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed lacus nunc, tempus a risus vel, mattis vulputate ligula. Phasellus egestas ipsum posuere ultricies rutrum. Pellentesque luctus consectetur placerat. Cras non semper purus. Curabitur ut tincidunt mauris. Donec ac turpis orci. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed lacus nunc, tempus a risus vel, mattis vulputate ligula. Phasellus egestas ipsum posuere ultricies rutrum. Pellentesque luctus consectetur placerat. Cras non semper purus. Curabitur ut tincidunt mauris. Donec ac turpis orci. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas.
The audience members who experienced awe were more willing to risk blowing up the balloon than those who did not. It appears that awe works as a manifold, lowering our need for cognitive control and thereby reducing our fear of risk. This ultimately contributes to an increased curiosity and overall desire to step into the unknown. This greater aptitude for risk-taking, along with the innate curiosity spurred by awe, might also manifest in more original thinking.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed lacus nunc, tempus a risus vel, mattis vulputate ligula. Phasellus egestas ipsum posuere ultricies rutrum. Pellentesque luctus consectetur placerat. Cras non semper purus. Curabitur ut tincidunt mauris. Donec ac turpis orci. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed lacus nunc, tempus a risus vel, mattis vulputate ligula. Phasellus egestas ipsum posuere ultricies rutrum. Pellentesque luctus consectetur placerat. Cras non semper purus. Curabitur ut tincidunt mauris. Donec ac turpis orci. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas.
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