What the science of happiness says about the self and others | Aeon Essays

“The more you think happiness is a social thing, the better off you are,”

five ways that awe improves well-being: Awe causes “shifts in neurophysiology, a diminished focus on the self, increased prosocial relationality, greater social integration, and a heightened sense of meaning.”

Whether by design or accident, many exercise classes also take advantage of the “close clustering” phenomenon. Maintaining less personal space amplifies the social cohesion felt while moving in synchrony, perhaps because physical closeness further blurs the boundary between self and other.

It turns out that people who have a prosocial orientation to life—that is, they enjoy witnessing other people’s happiness and are motivated to help others who are struggling—synchronize more easily with others. Something in their mindset or biology makes it easier to merge in collective action and lose themselves in the movement.