Perceived social support mediated the relationship between Awe and Altruism Tendency in Chinese Adolescents: evidence from a longitudinal study and weekly dairy study

Altruism tendency is the cornerstone of a thriving society. Awe is a self-transcendent emotion with a great social function. The relationship between awe and altruism tendency has drawn considerable attention in the scientific literature. However, previous studies have mainly focused on the association from the perspective of dispositional awe. There is a lack of longitudinal research analyzing the immediate and lagged relationship between awe and altruism tendency using different methods at both trait and state levels, while also investigating their potential mechanism. The present study employed two complementary studies to examine the associations between awe, perceived social support, and altruism tendency at both trait and state levels. First, a longitudinal study was conducted over a 6-month period with 231 Chinese adolescents to explore the associations at the trait level (Study 1). The results revealed that dispositional awe had immediate and lagged effects on altruism tendency. Perceived overall social support, as well as support from different sources, played a mediating role in the delayed relationship between the two main variables. Subsequently, a sample of 117 Chinese adolescents completed the paper questionnaires once a week for seven consecutive weeks to investigate the within-subject relationships at the state level (Study 2). The results indicated that state awe had immediate and lagged effects on altruism tendency. Additionally, perceived support from family and significant others mediated the relationship between the two main variables at the within-subject level. These findings contribute to the social function theory of emotion by establishing a pathway of "emotion (awe) - cognition (perceived social support) - behavior (altruism tendency)" and provided empirical guidance for promoting prosocial behavior in adolescents.