Wonder together: couples who share awe are more satisfied, study suggests

What keeps romantic relationships alive? A paper published in 2026 in The Journal of Positive Psychology points to a rather unusual emotion: awe – the sense of wonder at something vast and overwhelming. As US psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman summarises in his Beautiful Minds newsletter (29 September 2026), the researchers surveyed 198 and 306 adults in relationships in two studies.

The result: people who experienced awe together with their partner reported higher relationship satisfaction, more passionate love and a stronger sense of connection. In the second study, shared awe accounted for about half of the variation in how well relationships were flourishing. The link held after accounting for shared amusement and how often couples went out together. Notably, once shared awe was taken into account, a person's general tendency to feel awe was even linked to lower satisfaction.

The evidence has limits, however: the data come from a one-off survey, and only one partner answered in each case. The relationship could also run the other way – happy couples may simply seek out awe-inspiring experiences together more often. The study therefore cannot show that deliberately planned shared experiences strengthen a relationship. Cross-sectional data of this kind show associations, not causes. Further studies will need to show whether the findings hold up when both partners are asked.