The Big 12 of Gratitude
Thanksgiving is a good time to focus
on gratitude. Gratitude is a common human emotion and a virtue among adherents
of many religions.
Christians are encouraged to count their blessings and offer
thanks each day.
You do not have to be religious to benefit from a grateful attitude.
In psychology, gratitude is a positive emotion expressed
toward those who have given some gift or benefit. For people of faith, gifts ultimately come from God.
It’s no surprise that there is a positive correlation
between religiosity or spirituality and gratitude.
Don't wait for Thanksgiving to enjoy the benefits of gratitude.
The Grateful Living
What’s true about grateful people compared to those who are low on gratefulness?
THE BIG 12 BLESSINGS OF GRATITUDE
1. Higher positive feelings
2. Higher life satisfaction
3. More vitality
4. More optimism
5. More generosity
6. More helpful
7. More likely to attend religious services
8. More likely to practice their faith
9. Less interest in material goods
10. Less likely to judge success in terms of possessions
11. Less envious of others
12. More likely to share
Ad. Read more about Gratitude and Faith in Chapter 4 of Living Well
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See the Gratitude Scale used to measure gratitude.
Gratitude Research Notes - Tweet Away
Gratitude journals work. People who kept a weekly gratitude
journal felt better about their lives, were more optimistic, reported fewer
physical symptoms, and exercised more than those in other groups who either recorded
hassles or neutral life events.
Making a gratitude list helps personal goal attainment.
Young adults who performed daily gratitude exercises had
increased alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy
compared to people in other research groups—people who focused on hassles or
comparing themselves to others who had less.
Writing letters of gratitude increased happiness and
life satisfaction, and decreased depressive symptoms.
A four-week gratitude program resulted in higher life
satisfaction and self-esteem compared to people in a control condition.
Both gratitude and forgiveness were linked to
well-being in a sample of people receiving psychotherapy.
Women appear to gain more from gratitude than men do.
Compared to women, men were less likely to feel and express gratitude. Men were
more critical when evaluating gratitude, and overall benefited less than women
did.
Women, who were breast cancer patients, benefited from
gratitude when they were open to others.
Gratitude promotes high-quality relationships.
Gratitude promotes high-quality relationships.
**********
Learn from an expert -- Dr. Robert A. Emmons
Happy Thanksgiving!
Gratitude References
Algoe, S.B. & Stanton, A.L. (2012). Gratitude when it is
needed most: Social functions of gratitude in women with metastatic breast
cancer. Emotion, 12, 163-168. DOI: 10.1037/a0024024
Emmons, R. A., & Crumpler, C. A. (2000). Gratitude
as a human strength: Appraising the evidence. Journal of Social
and Clinical Psychology, 19, 56-69.
Emmons, R. A., & Kneezel, T. T.(2005). Giving thanks:
Spiritual and religious correlates of gratitude. Journal
of Psychology and Christianity, 24, 140-148.
Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting
blessings versus burdens: Experimental studies of gratitude and subjective
well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
84, 377-389.
Froh, J. J., Bono, G., & Emmons, R. A. (2010). Being
grateful is beyond good manners: Gratitude and motivation to contribute to
society among early adolescents. Motivation and Emotion, 34, 144-157.
Froh, J., Sefick, W. J., & Emmons, R. A. (2008).
Counting blessings in early adolescents: An experimental study of
gratitude and subjective well-being. Journal of School
Psychology, 46, 213-233.
Kashdan, T.B., Mishra, A., Breen, W. E., & Froh, J.J.
(2009). Gender differences in gratitude: Examining appraisals, narratives, the
willingness to express emotions, and changes in psychological needs. Journal
of Personality, 77, 691-730. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00562.x
McCullough, M. E., Emmons, R. A., & Tsang, J.
(2002). The grateful disposition: A conceptual and empirical
topography. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
82,112-127.
Rash, J.A., Matsuba, M.K., & Prkachin, K.M. (2011).
Gratitude and well-being: Who benefits the most from a gratitude intervention? Applied
psychology: Health and well-being, 3, 350-369. DOI:
10.1111/j.1758-0854.2011.01058.x
Toepfer, S.M., Cichy, K., & Peters, P. (2012). Letters
of gratitude: Further evidence for author benefits. Journal of Happiness
Studies, 13, 187-201. DOI: 10.1007/s10902-011-9257-7
Toussaint, L. & Friedman, P. (2009). Forgiveness,
gratitude, and well-geing: The mediating role of affect and beliefs. Journal
of Happiness Studies, 10, 635-654. DOI: 10.1007/s10902-008-9111-8
Tsang, J., Ashleigh, S., & Carlisle, R.D. (2012). An
experimental test of the relationship between religion and gratitude. Psychology
of Religion and Spirituality, 4, 40-55. DOI: 10.1037/a0025632
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