Big smile, small self: Awe walks promote prosocial positive emotions in older adults.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Randomized controlled trial in healthy older adults
PubMed 32955293 · doi:10.1037/emo0000876
What was done
Sixty healthy older adults were randomly assigned to an 8-week intervention consisting of weekly 15-minute outdoor walks framed either to elicit awe (awe walk group) or standard walking (control group). Participants took photographs of themselves during walks, rated their in-walk emotional states, recorded daily emotional experiences outside the walk context, and completed pre- and post-intervention assessments of anxiety, depression, and life satisfaction.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values, confidence intervals, or p-values. Compared with controls, participants in the awe walk group reported greater awe, greater joy, and higher prosocial positive emotions during walks, and displayed increased smile intensity and smaller self-framing in walk photographs over time. Outside the walks, awe walkers showed greater increases in daily prosocial positive emotions and greater decreases in daily distress over the 8 weeks. Pre-to-post intervention scores for anxiety, depression, and life satisfaction did not change from baseline in either group.
Why it matters
Brief cognitive framing to cultivate awe during routine outdoor walking can augment everyday positive prosocial emotions and reduce daily distress in older adults. However, these daily shifts did not translate into broader changes in clinical or global well-being measures.
Limits
The sample was small (n = 60) and restricted to healthy older adults, limiting generalizability. No numerical data or effect sizes are provided in the abstract. The intervention showed no effect on primary longitudinal outcomes of anxiety, depression, or life satisfaction, and durability beyond the 8-week period was not assessed.
Cited by
- partial Older adults aged 75 or older who performed an awe walk once per week for 8 weeks, intentionally shifting focus from small details to vast views, experienced reduced physical pain and improved brain health 6 years later.
- partial An 8-week intervention of weekly awe walks in older adults increases experiences of awe and kindness over time and reduces self-reported physical pain.