According to Plutchik's Emotion Wheel, Awe is the Combination of Surprise and Fear
According to Plutchik's Emotion Wheel, awe is the combination of surprise and fear (option c).
Understanding Plutchik's Emotion Wheel and Awe
Plutchik's model of emotions organizes eight primary emotions in a wheel-like diagram, where combinations of adjacent emotions create complex or secondary emotions. In this model, awe specifically emerges as a combination of surprise and fear, representing a distinct emotional experience characterized by:
- A sense of being overwhelmed by something perceived as vastly greater than oneself
- The simultaneous experience of wonder (from surprise) and trepidation (from fear)
- A mixed emotional state that can be both positive and negative
Cultural Variations in Awe Experience
Recent research shows significant cultural differences in how awe is experienced. In a two-week daily diary study comparing Chinese and American participants, Chinese participants reported greater fear during experiences of awe than American participants 1. This suggests that while awe is universally a combination of surprise and fear, the balance between these components may vary across cultures.
Physiological and Psychological Components
The experience of awe involves distinct physiological responses that align with both surprise and fear components:
- Fear-induced bradycardia (slowing of heart rate) may occur during awe experiences 2
- Autonomic arousal similar to fear responses can be present during awe-inspiring events 3
How Awe Differs from Other Emotions
Awe can be distinguished from other emotions by its unique characteristics:
- Unlike pure surprise, which can be brief and neutral, awe involves a deeper cognitive processing and often includes an element of fear or respect for something perceived as greater than oneself
- Unlike pure fear, which typically triggers avoidance, awe often involves approach behaviors despite the fear component 4
- Awe is associated with exceeded expectations, while surprise can be associated with both exceeded and disconfirmed expectations 4
Epistemic Properties of Awe
As an epistemic emotion (related to knowledge acquisition), awe has specific features:
- Associated with having sufficient information (unlike curiosity and confusion which are associated with having too little information) 4
- Tends to be a relatively positive emotion compared to confusion and boredom
- Associated with approach behaviors rather than avoidance 4
Practical Applications
Understanding awe as a combination of surprise and fear has implications for various fields:
- In clinical settings, recognizing the fear component in awe experiences may help in addressing anxiety disorders where fear responses are prominent 2
- In educational contexts, awe-inspiring experiences can be leveraged as powerful learning tools, recognizing that the mild fear component contributes to their memorability
- In visualization and research contexts, tools like PyPlutchik have been developed to represent emotions based on Plutchik's model, including the combination of surprise and fear that constitutes awe 5
By recognizing awe as the combination of surprise and fear according to Plutchik's model, we can better understand this complex emotional experience and its role in human psychology.