Can expressing thanks really make a difference in your
life?
A classic and oft cited
study suggests the act of writing about things we are thankful or grateful for is
good for us. Here’s a summary of what Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough
found in a sample of 192 college students— mostly women (147).
The Research Method
The students were
divided into three experimental groups at the beginning of a quarter.
The students completed 10
weekly reports.
The three groups:
1. Gratitude. They were asked to think about last week and write
down 5 things that they were grateful or thankful for.
2. Hassles. The researchers explained that hassles are things
that are irritating. They were to think about what happened today and list up
to 5 hassles.
3. Events. The students were asked to think about the past week
and write 5 events that impacted them.
How the
researchers measured change in the participants—what the participants did.
1. They rated their
feelings using 30 terms like anger, sad, and happy.
2. They completed a 13-item
physical symptom checklist of such things as headaches, upset stomach, and sore
muscles.
3. They recorded how
they coped with the most pressing problem in the past week. The researchers
were looking for a grateful response to any help they received. The scale was
internally consistent—alpha = .92.
4. They rated their
general wellbeing for the past week.
5. They rated their
expectations for the week ahead, which assessed such dimensions as pessimistic - optimistic.
What Happened?
Gratitude:
After creating a
measure of gratitude from all the data collected, they compared the ratings for
the groups using a one-way ANOVA. The high score obtained by the gratitude
writing group was significantly higher than for those in the hassles group but
not more than those in the events group.
Feelings: The groups were not significantly different on their ratings of positive or negative feelings.
Wellbeing: The gratitude group had significantly higher
ratings.
Expectations: The gratitude group had significantly higher
ratings.
Physical health
Symptoms:
The gratitude group reported significantly fewer symptoms.
Exercise:
The gratitude group spent much more time exercising that those in the hassle
group.
Response to help: Those who reported grateful responses to help also
reported higher overall wellbeing.
Does Expressing Gratitude Have an Effect?
The results of this study, and other studies, offers scientific evidence that expressing gratitude in writing is a helpful thing to do. The contrast to focusing on life's hassles is especially helpful in understanding potential effects on our feelings and expectations. There's even a link to health and general wellbeing.
No study is perfect. By now, you can find a lot of research supporting the positive effects of gratitude.
Notes
The article listed
below includes three studies. This post just summarizes the first study.
Hashtags #gratitude #thankfulness #wellbeing #optimism
Reference
Emmons, R. A., &
McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental
investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377–389. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.377
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Resources
Grateful People -- The Big 12 of Gratitude
Gratitude Books
The Little book of Gratitude by Robert Emmons
Gratitude Works! A 21 Day Program for Creating Emotional Prosperity by Robert Emmons
Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier by Robert Emmons
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