Meng-Lewis, Y., Xian, H. orcid.org/0000-0002-7699-3294, Lewis, G. et al. (1 more author) (2021) “Enthusiastic admiration is the first principle of knowledge and its last”: A qualitative study of admiration for the famous. SAGE Open, 11 (2). ISSN 2158-2440
Abstract
The concept of fame has been associated with celebrities, wealth, attractiveness, and social recognition. Nevertheless, people have admiration for the famous who may not be celebrities. Admiration is regarded as one of the emotions of appreciation, or moral emotions, triggered by positive appraisals of excellence. It is present when seeing extraordinary displays of skills talent or achievement. However, theoretical and empirical research on admiration and its psychological effects on people are scarce. In this article, we discuss a qualitative study that explores a collection of experiences of admiration for the famous. Based on 26 in-depth interviews with residents in southern England, we explored why people admire famous individuals and how the experience may produce positive attitudes and behaviors. We found that through admiring famous individuals who are perceived to share similar interests and attributes, people may develop positive thinking about their own lives and may be more active in seeking new opportunities or engaging in self-growth. We also discuss the potential problems of admiration. This exploratory research contributes to the literature of positive psychology and has implications for furthering the understanding of people’s well-being.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). |
Keywords: | admiration; positive emotions; personal fulfillment; social learning; interpretative phenomenological analysis |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Management School (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 10 May 2021 15:45 |
Last Modified: | 10 May 2021 15:45 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/21582440211006730 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:173930 |