Being moved by meaningfulness: appraisals of surpassing internal standards elicit being moved by relationships and achievements

People can be moved and overwhelmed, a phenomenon typically accompanied by goose-bumps and tears. We argue that these feelings of being moved are not limited to situations that are appraised as pro-social but elicited when someone surpasses an internal standard. In line with these predictions, people were moved by relationships and success (Study 1), by reunion, separation, success and failure (Study 2) and by social, environmental and sports achievements (Study 3). In all three studies, the elicitation of these feelings was partially mediated by appraisals of surpassing social or achievement standards. In line with this, ratings of meaningfulness were closely associated with feelings of being moved and moving stimuli elicited behavioural intentions such as spending time with family and friends, helping others and/or achieving something in life. Thus, moving situations may remind us about what we perceive as meaningful and thereby help us to act accordingly.

人们可被触动并陷入情绪激荡，这类现象通常伴随鸡皮疙瘩与流泪反应。我们认为，此类感动情绪并非仅局限于被判定为亲社会（pro-social）的场景，而是当某一对象超越个体内在标准时便会被触发。契合上述预测的是，人们会因人际关系与成就而感动（Study 1）、因重逢、离别、成功与失败而感动（Study 2），亦会因社会、环境与体育领域的成就而感动（Study 3）。在上述三项研究中，此类情绪的触发过程均部分通过个体对情境超越社会规范或成就标准的认知评估得以中介。与此一致的是，意义感评分与感动情绪紧密相关，而能引发感动的刺激会催生出一系列行为意向，例如陪伴家人与朋友、帮助他人，或是在人生中有所成就。由此可见，令人感动的场景或许能唤醒我们对自身所认定的有价值事物的认知，进而助力我们依此行事。