The Psychology of Bigness and Smallness
This research introduces "Smallness" as a distinct motivational orientation, separate from awe, which drives individuals to feel less significant and consistently fosters prosocial behaviors like increased cooperation and reduced competition.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
For decades, psychologists have been deeply interested in why people strive to matter. We see this drive everywhere: in the pursuit of high status, the desire to be recognized for our achievements, and the constant effort to build self-esteem. This is the motivation to be significant, to stand out, and to feel large in the eyes of the world. It is a well-understood force that pushes people to compete, to lead, and to accumulate resources. But for all the attention paid to this drive to expand the self, researchers have paid comparatively little attention to the opposite impulse. They have rarely asked whether people are ever motivated to feel small. Is there a genuine human desire to step back, to diminish one's own importance, and to feel like a small part of something much larger?
A new series of experiments suggests that the answer is yes. Researchers have identified that feeling small is not just a passive state that happens to us when we are overwhelmed; it is an active motivational orientation, a distinct state of mind that people can seek out. This research proposes that human motivation is not a one-way street toward greatness, but a dynamic balance between two complementary drives: the drive to be big, and the drive to be small. While the drive to be big pushes us to achieve and compete, the drive to be small pulls us toward connection, cooperation, and a sense of belonging to a larger whole. Understanding this second drive helps explain why people sometimes choose to relinquish control, why they cooperate more readily when they feel humble, and why the relentless pursuit of significance can sometimes lead to burnout.
To test whether this desire to feel small is real and distinct from other emotions, researchers conducted three large studies involving nearly 1,900 adults. In the first study, they created a scenario where a person named Alex held a leadership position at a company. For some participants, Alex's job was described as rewarding and energizing, a path to recognition and growth. For others, the same job was described as exhausting and depleting, a burden that kept Alex away from family and friends. A third group read a neutral description of a routine workday. The researchers then asked participants what they thought Alex should do when offered a new, demanding project. Those who read the exhausting version were significantly more likely to want Alex to decline the offer and take time off, signaling a motivation to step back and feel smaller. Those who read the rewarding version wanted Alex to accept the challenge and keep moving forward. Crucially, when asked how big or small they wanted Alex to feel, the group reading the exhausting story chose a smaller figure to represent the person, while the group reading the rewarding story chose a larger one. This proved that simply framing the pursuit of significance as draining could shift people's motivation toward Smallness without using any grand or spiritual stimuli.
The researchers then asked what happens when people are motivated to feel small. Does this state change how they treat others? In a second study, they used the same method to put participants into a mindset of Bigness or Smallness and then asked them to play a game involving a co-worker. In this game, the players could choose to share their best ideas to help the team succeed, or withhold them to try to outshine their partner. The results were clear: participants who had been induced to feel Smallness were significantly more likely to cooperate and share their ideas. They were less competitive and more willing to work together. In contrast, those motivated toward Bigness were more focused on standing out and less inclined to collaborate. This finding suggests that the desire to feel small is not just about withdrawing from the world, but about turning toward it in a more generous, cooperative way.
A final question remained: Is this feeling of smallness unique to the specific feeling of awe, that sense of wonder we get when looking at a vast mountain or a starry sky? Previous research had shown that awe makes people feel small and generous, but it was unclear if awe was the only way to get there. In the third study, the researchers added a fourth group that read a story about Alex discovering a massive, mind-blowing cosmic phenomenon, a classic trigger for awe. They compared this group to the groups who felt small because their work was exhausting (non-awe Smallness) and the groups who felt big or neutral. The results showed that both the awe group and the non-awe group wanted to feel smaller than the others, and both groups were more willing to rely on others for help. Most importantly, both groups were more cooperative in the game than the group motivated toward Bigness. Even though the non-awe group reported feeling the least amount of awe of all the groups, they still showed the same shift toward cooperation and humility. This confirmed that feeling small is a broader motivational state that can be reached through different paths, not just through the experience of awe.
The researchers found that while awe is a powerful and potent way to induce this state, it is not the only way. When the pursuit of being significant becomes too costly, too exhausting, or too burdensome, people naturally shift toward a desire for Smallness. This shift is not a sign of weakness or a failure to cope; rather, it appears to be a functional adjustment that restores balance. It allows individuals to step out of the relentless competition for status and reconnect with the community. The studies suggest that a healthy psychological life involves moving between these two states. Just as a body needs to rest after exertion, the mind may need to periodically relinquish the drive to be big in order to find relief, connection, and a sense of belonging. The research indicates that we are not just driven to matter, but also driven to belong by mattering less, and that this second drive is just as fundamental to our nature as the first.
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