ST and Chills Full Data Cohort post-Quality Control Uploaded on 10/11/2023

Positive transformative states of consciousness are difficult to reliably evoke, impeding their study and wide application. Self-transcendence (ST) is one such state, associated with ego-dissolution (blurring of the boundaries of self), interconnectedness (felt connection to self, others, and world), and moral elevation (motivation to live in a virtuous way), which is typically elicited by major life transitions, religious or meditative practice, and psychedelics. Although a potent mediator of well-being, meaning-making, and prosociality, conventional paths to ST pose considerable contraindications and barriers to entry. Aesthetic chills (henceforth “chills”) are a replicable pleasurable psychophysiological response characterized by a cold sensation, shivering, and goosebumps. Chills are associated with ST’s subjective qualities and outcomes. However, evidence is lacking for chills-evoking media as a replicable path to ST. We exposed 2937 participants to chills-eliciting stimuli, then assayed their mood, chills intensity, and ST measures (ego-dissolution, connectedness, and moral elevation). Prior to presentation, they reported on mood, personality, positive emotionality, kamamuta (an inclination toward feelings of being moved), and absorption (the tendency to lose oneself in experience). Controlling for prior states and traits, chills were robustly associated with ST. Analyses of main effects and covariance structure found that chills and ST measures form a tightly related construct, with covariation driven primarily by extraversion, absorption, kamamuta and political orientation. These findings suggest that chills denote replicable ST experiences evokable via home exposure to audiovisual media. We discuss implications of chills, for more tractable studies and applications of ST towards human flourishing, including in the vulnerable populations.