Awe-inspiring nature helps people connect to science, study finds

Phys · May 27, 2026 · 780 words · By North Carolina State University

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What to know about Awe-inspiring nature helps people connect to science, study finds

The article reports on a study published in the journal 'People and Nature' regarding how experiencing awe during natural phenomena, specifically a solar eclipse, affects a person's sense of science identity and belonging. The research involved 528 volunteers who recorded animal behavior and reported an increase in their connection to science following the experience.

Propaganda risk 10%

Claims checked 12

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Awe-inspiring nature helps people connect to science, study finds Gaby Clark Scientific Editor Robert Egan Associate Editor A new study finds that when people engage in participatory science activities that involve awe-inspiring natural phenomena, such as an…

Why it matters

Participatory science, also called citizen science, refers to projects in which members of the public contribute to the scientific process.

Common ground

The paper, "Awe in Nature Fosters Science Identity and Belonging in Participatory Scientists During an Eclipse," will be published May 27 in the journal People and Nature.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Awe-inspiring nature helps people connect to science, study finds?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Adam Hartstone-Rose, co-author of the paper and a professor of biological sciences at NC State?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-awe-nature-people-science.html

analyticsAnalysis

10%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 100%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6

schedule Pending 2

verified Verified By Reference 2

info Single Source 1

help Insufficient Evidence 1

info

Claim 1: “Adam Hartstone-Rose, co-author of the paper and a professor of biological sciences at NC State.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While other authors are verified, the specific role and title of Adam Hartstone-Rose as a professor of biological sciences at NC State and co-author is not corroborated by the provided evidence (Wikipedia results for this claim were irrelevant).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — United States and Japan have dominated the adult animation market since the early 1970s, later varied to countries including the United Kingdom, China, France, Spain, South Korea and the Philippines. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_animation_by_country

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The American lion (Panthera atrox (), with the species name meaning "savage" or "cruel", also called the North American lion) is an extinct pantherine cat native to North America during the Late Pleis…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_lion

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Smilodon is a genus of extinct felids. It is one of the best-known saber-toothed predators and prehistoric mammals. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related to th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smilodon

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Claim 2: “Participants who witnessed the totality reported significantly greater awe”

CORROBORATED

Web search results explicitly state that participants on the path of totality scored significantly higher on awe than those who saw a partial eclipse.

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web search NEUTRAL — A new study finds that when people engage in participatory science activities that involve awe-inspiring natural phenomena they more closely identify with science and feel a greater sense of belonging…
https://news.ncsu.edu/2026/05/awe-helps-connect-to-science/

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web search NEUTRAL — Watching the 2024 total solar eclipse sparked awe that made everyday people feel they belonged in science, new research finds.Total Darkness Made All the Difference. Participants on the path of totali…
https://studyfinds.com/eclipse-awe-science/

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web search NEUTRAL — “We also found that awe played a powerful role .” The researchers measured the role of awe and examined if participants felt more or less awe depending on whether they saw a partial eclipse or the tot…
https://www.futurity.org/awe-inspiring-nature-science-333614…

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Claim 3: “A new study finds that when people engage in participatory science activities that involve awe-inspiring natural phenomena, such as an eclipse, they more closely identify with science and feel a greater sense of belonging.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results confirm that the study found participatory science activities involving awe-inspiring natural phenomena increase science identity and sense of belonging.

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web search NEUTRAL — May 26, 2026 ... Findings affirm the power of natural phenomena in driving science identity and belonging for those engaged in participatory science projects in ...
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3…

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web search NEUTRAL — 7 days ago ... participants would report increases in science identity and belong- ... around awe- inspiring phenomena, including natural phenomena,. is a ...
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/405319216_Awe_in_na…

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web search NEUTRAL — May 27, 2026 ... ... activities that involve awe-inspiring natural phenomena they more closely identify with science and feel a greater sense of belonging.
https://news.ncsu.edu/2026/05/awe-helps-connect-to-science/

schedule

Claim 4: “our project was hosted on SciStarter”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 5: “we found that the sense of awe was greater for those study participants who also recorded unusual behavior by animals”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm or deny the specific correlation between recording unusual animal behavior and the level of awe reported.

verified

Claim 6: “Caren Cooper, co-author of a paper on the work and a professor of forestry and environmental resources at North Carolina State University.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and NC State LinkedIn profiles confirm Caren Cooper is a professor of forestry and environmental resources at NC State University.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Caren Beth Cooper is an American professor and scholar at North Carolina State University, citizen science advocate, and author of two books on citizen science. Her doctoral dissertation addressed the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caren_Cooper

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Duncan U. Fletcher High School, commonly referred to as Fletcher High, is a comprehensive public high school in Neptune Beach, Florida, United States. The school is one of 47 high schools in the Duval…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duncan_U._Fletcher_High_School

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American retired politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he represente…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 7: “Participatory science, also called citizen science, refers to projects in which members of the public contribute to the scientific process.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and National Geographic Education both define citizen science/participatory science as research involving public participation in the scientific process.

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web search NEUTRAL — Citizen science is research conducted with the participation of the general public, amateur or nonprofessional researchers, or participants from the fields ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_science

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web search NEUTRAL — Jan 23, 2023 ... It is important to adhere to scientific standards, which include, above all, transparency with regard to the methodology of data collection and ...
https://riojournal.com/article/96476/

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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 24, 2024 ... ... public participation and collaboration in scientific research to increase scientific knowledge ... Collaboration in citizen science involves ...
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/citizen-sc…

schedule

Claim 8: “Awe in Nature Fosters Science Identity and Belonging in Participatory Scientists During an Eclipse, People and Nature (2026). DOI: 10.1002/pan3.70347”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 9: “The paper, "Awe in Nature Fosters Science Identity and Belonging in Participatory Scientists During an Eclipse," will be published May 27 in the journal People and Nature.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm the paper title and its publication date of May 27 in the journal 'People and Nature'.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Identity is the set of qualities, beliefs, personality traits, appearance, or expressions that characterize a person or a group. Identity emerges during childhood as children start to comprehend their…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_(social_science)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Identity fusion, a psychological construct rooted in social psychology and cognitive anthropology, is a form of alignment with groups in which members experience a visceral sense of oneness with the g…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_fusion

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Identity politics is politics based on a particular identity, such as ethnicity, race, nationality, religion, denomination, gender, sexual orientation, social background, political affiliation, caste,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_politics

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 10: “the researchers developed a participatory science project and worked with 528 people, ages 8 to 80, who volunteered to record the behavior of animals during the day of the total solar eclipse that traversed North America in 2024.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm the study involved 528 volunteers aged 8 to 80 recording animal behavior during the 2024 total solar eclipse.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_P-51_Mustang

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Pan-American Highway is a vast network of roads that stretches about 30,000 kilometers (19,000 mi) from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, United States, in the northernmost part of North America, to Ushuaia, A…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-American_Highway

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — U.S. Route 80 or U.S. Highway 80 (US 80) is a major east–west United States Numbered Highway in the Southern United States, much of which was once part of the early auto trail known as the Dixie Overl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_80

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 11: “Kelly Lynn Mulvey, corresponding author of the paper and a professor of psychology at NC State.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results and Google Scholar confirm Kelly Lynn Mulvey is a professor of psychology at NC State and the corresponding author of the paper.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a list of notable individuals who were born, raised, or have a strong association with the U.S. state of New Jersey.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_from_New_Jersey

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of singer-songwriters who write, compose, and perform their own musical material. The list is divided into two sections to differentiate between artists categorized as singer-songwriter…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_singer-songwriters

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Wheatland Music Festival is a music and arts festival organized by the Wheatland Music Organization, a non-profit organization specializing in the preservation and presentation of traditional arts…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatland_Music_Festival

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 12: “the greater the sense of awe that people reported, the greater the reported increase in science identity and belonging.”

CORROBORATED

The evidence indicates a positive correlation where greater reported awe led to greater increases in science identity and belonging.

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web search NEUTRAL — Science identity is the extent to which people see science as being part of who they are.“These changes in science identity and belonging didn’t require formal training or participation in a long-term…
https://chass.ncsu.edu/news/2026/05/27/study-finds-awe-inspi…

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web search NEUTRAL — Why might awe decrease materialism? According to the researchers, the answer may lie in the self-transcendence that awe can inspire. “People in awe start to appreciate their sense of selfhood as less …
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/eight_reasons_…

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web search NEUTRAL — Keltner and Haidt (2003) and Schneider (2009) stress the potential of awe-inspiring experiences to be among the most powerful personal transformational experiences. Awe-elicited shifts feel pleasant, …
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.…

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.