Photos: PTF Parent Up Distinguished Speaker Series Concludes with Paul Piff and the Science of Awe

Dr. Piff spoke to parents, community friends, and Upper School students on the transformative role of awe in our lives.
The 2017-2018 PTF Parent Up Distinguished Speaker Series closed last Friday with “The Science of Awe and Wonder” delivered by Paul Piff, an assistant professor of psychology and social behavior at UC Irvine, and head of the school’s Morality, Emotion and Social Hierarchy Lab.
 
Dr. Piff spoke to parents, community friends, and Upper School students on the transformative role of awe in our lives. Dr. Piff said awe can be found in many places – nature (big and small), religious spaces, the cosmos, science – allowing for opportunities to open our eyes and minds and appreciate the things around us.
 
Dr. Piff said that as a collective emotion, awe has the power to increase our sense of well-being, make people kinder and more generous, expand our sense of time, and even improve our health. In a series of social experiments that aimed to find a relationship between awe and generosity and awe and helpfulness, Dr. Piff and his team were able to draw positive correlations in both aspects. They found that subjects who experience a feeling of awe, even if just for a short amount of time, displayed higher levels of selfless behavior and ethical decision-making. Thus, awe “connects us to things larger than ourselves, to our groups and communities, and motivates us to care for others and the greater good.”

How do we cultivate awe and combat the selfishness we see in today’s world? Dr. Piff offered these suggestions:
  • Make an awe trip (travel for awe, whether in nature, a concert, or a different culture)
  • Experience something celestial (a rainbow, a meteor shower, an eclipse, the night sky)
  • Witness something giant (a mountain range, a canyon, a forest of redwoods, a view)
  • Witness something tiny (a miniature collection, small creatures, a microscope)
  • Visit a natural wonder (like the ocean, a nearby waterfall or tide pool)
  • (Re)discover a piece of art (visit a museum, listen to music)
  • Think about inspiring people (role models, acts of virtue and kindness)
  • Join a team or group with coordinated activity (sports, choir, a band)
  • Take an awe walk (your sole task is to encounter something that amazes, big or small)
 
"Dr. Piff was an inspiring speaker that touched on an aspect of science that impacts us all,” said St. Margaret’s Academic Dean Jeneen Graham. “It was a great way to wrap up a tremendous year of speakers for the Parent Up Distinguished Speaker Series. We are so thankful for the PTF and this year's chair, Ali Monge, for helping bring these world-class guests to St. Margaret's."
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