Trait awe and integrity violation: Examining the mediating effect of social dominance orientation

Abstract

Guided by conceptual analyses of awe as a self-transcendent emotion and the small-self hypothesis, we aim to explore the role of trait awe—one's chronic tendency to experience awe—in dampening individuals' violation of integrity through social dominance orientation. Four empirical studies (N = 4034) with cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental designs were performed. Study 1 (N = 1612) used a set of scales to initially investigate the relationships among trait awe, social dominance orientation, and integrity violation. Study 2 (N = 2027) used a novel contextualized scenario-based measure to capture integrity violation, thereby further testing hypotheses. Study 3 (N = 173) adopted a three-month, two-wave longitudinal design to retest whether trait awe was negatively associated with integrity violation via social dominance orientation. Study 4 (N = 222) employed a moderation-of-process design. Manipulating social dominance orientation showed that it causally mediated the relationship between trait awe and integrity violation. These studies converged to confirm that awe-prone individuals are less inclined to engage in integrity violation due to their lower levels of social dominance orientation. This work not only corroborates the significance of trait awe in dampening integrity violation but also illuminates the underlying mechanism by which trait awe influences integrity violation.