January 2017
Paul Piff, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Social Behavior, and his research on awe is featured in The Wall Street Journal. The article encourages readers to look to nature to improve mental health, and recover from the stresses of everyday life.
From The Wall Street Journal:
Nature also affects our social skills. In a 2015 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers found that after gazing up at tall trees for just one minute, participants in Berkeley, Calif., behaved more helpfully to others than people who looked at an unremarkable building. The reason? Momentary awe, suggests the University of California, Irvine, psychologist Paul Piff, who co-authored the study. "I think we can say pretty certainly that having a little bit of awe every day in your life would make you happier, kinder and more compassionate," he says.