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Via Marginal Revolution:

http://www.psy.miami.edu/faculty/mmccullough/Gratitude_Page.htm

Highlights from the Research Project on Gratitude and Thankfulness
Dimensions and Perspectives of Gratitude
Co-Investigators: Robert A. Emmons, University of California, Davis
(contact: [email protected]; 530.752.8844)
Michael E. McCullough, University of Miami
(contact: [email protected]; 305.284.8057)

Gratitude is the “forgotten factor” in happiness research. We are engaged in a long-term research project
designed to create and disseminate a large body of novel scientific data on the nature of gratitude, its causes,
and its potential consequences for human health and well-being. Scientists are latecomers to the concept of
gratitude. Religions and philosophies have long embraced gratitude as an indispensable manifestation of
virtue, and an integral component of health, wholeness, and well-being. Through conducting highly focused,
cutting-edge studies on the nature of gratitude, its causes, and its consequences, we hope to shed important
scientific light on this important concept. This document is intended to provide a brief, introductory
overview of the major findings to date of the research project. For further information, please contact either
of the project investigators. This project is supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
We are engaged in two main lines of inquiry at the present time: (1) developing methods to cultivate
gratitude in daily life and assess gratitude’s effect on well-being, and (2) developing a measure to reliably
assess individual differences in dispositional gratefulness.

Gratitude Interventions and Psychological and Physical Well-Being

· In an experimental comparison, those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more
regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more
optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events
(Emmons & McCullough, 2003).

· A related benefit was observed in the realm of personal goal attainment: Participants who kept
gratitude lists were more likely to have made progress toward important personal goals (academic,
interpersonal and health-based) over a two-month period compared to subjects in the other
experimental conditions.

· A daily gratitude intervention (self-guided exercises) with young adults resulted in higher reported
levels of the positive states of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy
compared to a focus on hassles or a downward social comparison (ways in which participants
thought they were better off than others). There was no difference in levels of unpleasant emotions
reported in the three groups.

· Participants in the daily gratitude condition were more likely to report having helped someone with a
personal problem or having offered emotional support to another, relative to the hassles or social
comparison condition.

· In a sample of adults with neuromuscular disease, a 21-day gratitude intervention resulted in greater
amounts of high energy positive moods, a greater sense of feeling connected to others, more
optimistic ratings of one’s life, and better sleep duration and sleep quality, relative to a control group.
Measuring the Grateful Disposition

· Most people report being grateful (an average rating of nearly 6 on a 7 point scale).

· Well-Being: Grateful people report higher levels of positive emotions, life satisfaction, vitality,
optimism and lower levels of depression and stress. The disposition toward gratitude appears to
enhance pleasant feeling states more than it diminishes unpleasant emotions. Grateful people do not
deny or ignore the negative aspects of life.

· Prosociality: People with a strong disposition toward gratitude have the capacity to be empathic and
to take the perspective of others. They are rated as more generous and more helpful by people in
their social networks (McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, 2002).

· Spirituality: Those who regularly attend religio us services and engage in religious activities such as
prayer reading religious material score are more likely to be grateful. Grateful people are more
likely to acknowledge a belief in the interconnectedness of all life and a commitment to and
responsibility to others (McCullough et. al., 2002).

· Materialism: Grateful individuals place less importance on material goods; they are less likely to
judge their own and others success in terms of possessions accumulated; they are less envious of
others; and are more likely to share their possessions with others relative to less grateful persons.

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Bibliography
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Press.
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