Use documentary and large-scale art to trigger awe
Watch content that conveys genuine vastness — deep space, ecosystems, historical scale — with full attention rather than as background.
Key takeaways
- What it is: Watch content that conveys genuine vastness — deep space, ecosystems, historical scale — with full attention rather than as background.
- Why it works: Awe requires perceived vastness, and visual and narrative content that conveys scale beyond human experience can induce the emotion without requiring physical travel. The critical variable is attentional engagement: vast content watched as background wallpaper does not produce the accommodation response — the mental frameworks must actually be challenged, which requires focused engagement.
- Evidence: Backed by observational / correlational evidence.
- Avoid: Having awe-inducing content on in the background while doing something else — this creates ambient pleasant imagery without the attentional engagement that produces the emotional response.
Why it works
Awe requires perceived vastness, and visual and narrative content that conveys scale beyond human experience can induce the emotion without requiring physical travel. The critical variable is attentional engagement: vast content watched as background wallpaper does not produce the accommodation response — the mental frameworks must actually be challenged, which requires focused engagement.
How to do it
- 1Identify one documentary, film, or piece of music that genuinely moves you toward awe — a real example, not an ideal one.
- 2Watch or listen with screens off, full attention, in a room without other distractions.
- 3Allow yourself to be affected — do not immediately analyze or evaluate.
- 4Sit with the feeling for two minutes after it ends before resuming normal activity.
What the evidence says
ObservationalLab-based awe induction using video clips (often of nature at scale) reliably produces positive affect and small-self effects, consistent with Keltner’s model. Video-induced awe is used as a standard manipulation in research.
Honest caveat: Lab-induced awe via video may be lower intensity than naturally occurring awe; whether regular home use produces the same benefits as lab protocols is not established.
- — Keltner & Haidt (2003), "Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion," Cognition and Emotion
Common mistake
Having awe-inducing content on in the background while doing something else — this creates ambient pleasant imagery without the attentional engagement that produces the emotional response.
IX Coach suggests specific awe-inducing content matched to your stated interests and prompts an intention to watch with full attention on a specific evening.
Practice this with IX Coach →