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Awe is a self-relevant emotion, but whether and how awe impacts global self-continuity (GSC), a sense of connectedness among past, present, and future selves, has never been investigated. In six studies (N = 1,384), we examined the relationship between awe and GSC, as well as the mechanisms underlying this relationship, with both correlational and experimental design. We found awe positively associated with (Studies 1 and 3) and predicted (Studies 2 and 4–6) GSC. Moreover, we found that global processing (processing information in a general and big-picture way) and narrative (depicting one’s life as a story) serially mediated the relation (Studies 3–6). The effect of awe on GSC and the mediating effect of global processing and narrative could not simply be attributed to awe is predominantly positive (Studies 3, 4, and 6), and the model also holds for awe brought by threatening experience (Study 5). These findings enrich the literature about the way awe affects self-concept.

As one of the five core forms of self-knowledge, self-continuity is a key constitutional part of identity and confers a wide range of psychological benefits, such as positive affect, adaptive coping strategies, life satisfaction, and better self-control (Breakwell, 1986; Hershfield, 2011; Jiang et al., 2022; Neisser, 1988; Sadeh & Karniol, 2012; Sedikides et al., 2016; Sokol & Serper, 2019; Troll & Skaff, 1997). Researchers have investigated past-to-present self-continuity and present-to-future self-continuity separately (e.g., Ersner-Hershfield et al., 2009; Jiang et al., 2020; Rutchick et al., 2018; Sedikides et al., 2008). However, attributes that...