Developing and validating the Japanese version of the situational Awe cale (SAS-J)

Abstract

The experience of awe, an emotional response to vast stimuli overwhelming ones’ current mental structure, has often been measured using a questionnaire method. The purpose of the present study was to develop and validate the Japanese version of the Situational Awe Scale (SAS), which is a useful tool for measuring awe experiences from the perspective of the discriminability between positive- and threat-awe. The present study investigated the factor structure and validity of the Japanese version of the SAS (SAS-J) using awe-inducing video clips, through three online surveys (N = 1034; mean age = 38.74, SD = 10.95, range = 18–75). Results revealed that the SAS-J consisted of the same four factors as the original SAS (i.e., connection, oppression, chills, and diminished self) and had the convergent, criterion, and discriminative validity in measuring both positive- and threat-awe experiences. Additionally, results showed that the SAS-J could distinguish between positive- and threat-awe experiences. These results suggested that the SAS-J could measure both positive- and threat-awe experiences with validity. This study would make a methodological contribution to awe research.

Development of a Japanese version of the Awe Experience Scale (AWE-S): A structural topic modeling approach

“…Awe is an emotional response to perceptually and conceptually vast stimuli that transcend one's current frames of reference (Keltner & Haidt, 2003). It has been studied in various fields, such as psychology, economics, neuroscience, immunology, and public health (Guan et al, 2018;Ibanez et al, 2017;Monroy & Keltner, 2022;Piff et al, 2015;Sawada & Nomura, 2020;Stellar et al, 2015;Sun et al, 2021;Takano & Nomura, 2022b;van Elk et al, 2019). Previous studies have shown that awe is associated with subjective psychological phenomena, such as a sense of self and consciousness, which highlights the need for a standardized questionnaire to assess the various dimensions of awe experiences (Bai et al, 2017;Rudd et al, 2012;Takano & Nomura, 2021).…”

“…Universal components and cultural variations of awerelated phenomena have been identified via this scale. However, despite the creation and development of other scales to measure awe in Japan, the AWE-S has not yet been translated into the Japanese language (Nakayama et al, 2020;Sawada & Nomura, 2023). To facilitate further comprehensive cross-cultural comparisons, development of a Japanese version of the AWE-S, which can provide a deeper understanding of awe, is necessary.…”

“…Previous studies suggested that cultural similarities and differences in awe experiences were important perspectives to understand its generality and heterogeneity (Bai et al, 2017;Nakayama et al, 2020;Nakayama & Uchida, 2020;Razavi et al, 2016;Sawada & Nomura, 2023). Specifically, it was necessary to consider how awe altered the sense of self and…”

Development of a Japanese version of the Awe Experience Scale (AWE-S): A structural topic modeling approach

“…Universal components and cultural variations of awe-related phenomena have been identified via this scale. However, despite the creation and development of other scales to measure awe in Japan, the AWE-S has not yet been translated into the Japanese language ( Nakayama et al , 2020 ; Sawada & Nomura, 2023 ). To facilitate further comprehensive cross-cultural comparisons, development of a Japanese version of the AWE-S, which can provide a deeper understanding of awe, is necessary.…”

“…Previous studies suggested that cultural similarities and differences in awe experiences were important perspectives to understand its generality and heterogeneity ( Bai et al , 2017 ; Nakayama et al , 2020 ; Nakayama & Uchida, 2020 ; Razavi et al , 2016 ; Sawada & Nomura, 2023 ). Specifically, it was necessary to consider how awe altered the sense of self and differed across cultures, although the small self-effect was a general and robust phenomenon ( Bai et al , 2017 ; Nomura et al , 2021 ; Takano & Nomura, 2021 ).…”