Experiencing awe and flow significantly enhances moral character by promoting wisdom and humility. In a study with 605 adults, those predisposed to awe and flow demonstrated stronger wise reasoning (up to 30% higher) and greater epistemic humility compared to their happier counterparts. Individuals recalling awe-filled moments showed 25% better wise reasoning, while those experiencing flow exhibited 20% more humility. Interventions inducing awe (nature videos) and flow (music composition) further improved conflict resolution and self-awareness, highlighting the transformative power of self-transcendent experiences in fostering moral growth.
People's explicit beliefs about being an agent are not directly tied to how often they feel a sense of agency during sensorimotor tasks. Instead, the connection runs through metacognition: individuals who are less sensitive to cues indicating self-causation tend to report more negative agency beliefs, but this relationship disappears when accounting for their ability to accurately monitor their own judgments. Positive agency beliefs showed no clear link to sensorimotor measures. The findings suggest that introspective access, rather than the raw experience of agency, shapes one's enduring beliefs about being an agent.