It’s Awe-Fully Familiar: The Effect of Awe on Familiarity with Virtual Reality

Cassidy Ochadleus
Charissa Kirby
Christie Scollon

Abstract

This is a research paper describing a psychology study that was conducted to determine if familiarity has an effect on awe. Using virtual reality to experimentally elicit awe, we found that there was a statistically significant difference in the intensity of awe experienced. When the image was familiar, participants experienced greater awe than when it was unfamiliar.