gratitude

Gratitude is a positive feeling or attitude in recognition of a material or immaterial gift that one has received or will receive. One can be grateful to the divine, to humans or even to being, or to all of them at the same time. Historically, the experience of gratitude has always been the focus of some world religions. It was discussed intensely by moral philosophers such as Adam Smith in his theory of ethical feelings (1759). The systematic study of gratitude did not begin within psychology until around the year 2000, perhaps because psychology has traditionally been concerned with understanding negative rather than positive emotions. But since positive psychology emerged, gratitude has been part of mainstream psychological research.

Comparison with debt of gratitude

Gratitude is not the same as the feeling of indebtedness . Both feelings arise after help has been received, but the feeling of gratitude arises when the person realizes that he / she is / is obliged to reward the help in some way. The two feelings lead to different outcomes: guilty of gratitude (a negative feeling) can cause the recipient of help to avoid the helper in the future, while gratitude (a positive feeling) can motivate the recipient to seek out their benefactor, thereby enhancing the relationship improved between the two.

Receiving gratitude can change behavior

Gratitude can also make positive social behavior reinforce in the benefactor. For example, it was found in an experiment that customers of a jeweler who were thanked in a telephone conversation after the purchase later bought 70% more. For comparison: Customers who were thanked and who were informed about a sale only showed a 30 percent increase in their purchases, and customers who were not called at all showed no increase at all. In another study, regular guests at a restaurant tipped more when the waiters wrote “thank you” on the bill.

The mainly religious approaches

The study of the relationship between spirituality and gratitude has recently become common. Although these two characteristics are certainly not interdependent, research has shown that spirituality can increase the capacity for gratitude. Therefore, people who regularly attend church services or engage in other religious activities are likely to show greater gratitude in all life situations. In Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, and Hindu traditions, gratitude is seen as a valuable human affection. Worship with gratitude to God is a theme common to all of these religions; hence the concept of gratitude permeates religious texts, teaching content and traditions. Gratitude is thus one of the most important feelings that religions want to arouse and maintain in their followers and is considered a universal religious attitude.

Jewish approaches

Jews thank God on the Sabbath for the everyday blessings He bestows on them.

In Judaism, gratitude is an essential part of worship and it permeates every aspect of the believer's life. In the Jewish worldview, everything comes from God, and so gratitude is a central aspect. The Hebrew Bible is full of such passages; Here are two examples from the Psalms: “Lord, my God, I will thank you forever” and “I will thank you, Lord, with all my heart” (Ps 30:13 and Ps 9: 2). Gratitude is often also a part of Jewish prayers , as in Shema Israel , where the believer says out of gratitude: "Therefore you should love the Eternal, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deuteronomy 6: 4 ). The closing prayer, the Alenu , also speaks of gratitude in that it thanks God for the special skill of the Jewish people. In addition, the devout believer prays over a hundred blessing prayers called Berachot during the day . In Judaism, gratitude for human kindness and kindness is also emphasized. When you stop being selfish, you become open to others, you learn to appreciate what good they are, and therefore you can be thankful.

In Deuteronomy , God announced that he would punish those who “have had enough”, God who has given them all of this, but who do not serve “with joy and lust of the heart”. Envy and greed are also branded in the Ten Commandments . In order to transform such natural desires into good impulses, the Jewish tradition prescribes thanksgiving prayers (“ bracha ”), which - especially in the case of Orthodox Jews - accompany the entire daily routine as self-evident everyday rituals. On the Sabbath , too, believers are urged to count and celebrate God's blessings.

Christian approaches

It is said that gratitude shapes the entire life of Christians. Martin Luther called gratitude “the essential Christian attitude”. Gratitude is “the heart of the gospel”. Since every Christian believes he was created by a personal God, Christians are encouraged to praise and be grateful to their Creator. Christian gratitude sees God as the selfless giver of all good. This goes hand in hand with the biblical statement that every person is guilty ("sinner"). In Christianity, gratitude is the recognition of God's generosity, which leads Christians to align their own thoughts and deeds with these ideals. Christian gratitude is not just a sentimental feeling, but rather a virtue that leads to action. According to Jonathan Edwards ' Treatise Concerning Religious Affections , love and gratitude to God are signs of true religiosity. Modern measures of religious spirituality also include ratings of gratitude to God. Samuel and Lester (1985) found in a small experimental group of Catholic nuns and priests that - out of 50 possible feelings - love and gratitude were the most common feelings towards God.

Islamic approaches

The holy text of Islam, the Koran , is imbued with the idea of ​​gratitude. Islam encourages believers to be grateful and to thank God in all situations. The Koran also says in Sura 14 that the thankful receives more from God. A traditional Islamic proverb says that "the first to be called to paradise are those who praised God in every situation of life". The Prophet Mohammed also said: “Gratitude for the abundance you have received is the best guarantee that this abundance will not cease.” Many everyday activities in the Islamic faith also encourage gratitude. The column of daily prayer encourages believers to pray to God five times a day to thank him for his kindness. The pillar of fasting during the month of Ramadan is designed to bring the believer into a state of gratitude.

Measurement of individual differences

Recent psychological research on gratitude aims at the nature of individual differences in gratitude and what it leads to when one is more or less grateful. Three different measurement methods have been developed to measure individual differences in gratitude; each based on a slightly different basic idea. The GQ6 method measures individual differences with the help of the question of how often and how intensely people feel gratitude. The rating scale measures eight different aspects of gratitude: assessment of people, possessions, the moment, rituals, awe, social differences, existential fears, and behavior that expresses gratitude. The GRAT method assesses gratitude to other people, gratitude to the world in general, and the lack of dissatisfaction with what one does not have. A new study has shown that all of these measurement methods actually measure the same method of facing life; this suggests that individual differences in gratitude include all of these components.

Empirical results

The connection with well-being

Much more recent work shows that people who are more grateful feel better subjectively. Grateful people are happier, less depressed, less stressed, and more satisfied with their lives and social relationships . Grateful people also have better control of their surroundings, personal growth, purpose in life, and self-esteem. Grateful people have more positive ways to deal with the difficulties in their life, are more likely to ask other people for support, grow from the experience, and spend more time planning how to deal with the problem at hand. Grateful people also have fewer negative coping skills, are less likely to try to avoid or define the problem in question, they are less likely to look to themselves to blame, or to cope with the problem less through drug use. Grateful people sleep better, probably because they have less negative, more positive thoughts before going to sleep.

Apparently, gratitude has one of the strongest mental health relationships of all traits. Numerous studies suggest that grateful people tend to be happier and less stressed or depressed. In a gratitude study, participants were randomly assigned one of six therapeutic intervention options designed to improve their general quality of life (Seligman et al., 2005). It was found that of these possibilities the greatest short-term effect was brought about by a “gratitude visit”, during which the participants wrote and delivered a thank you letter to someone from their area of ​​life. This intervention resulted in a ten percent increase in happiness points and a significant decrease in depression points, and these changes persisted for up to a month after the visit. The greatest long-term effect of these six possibilities was brought about by writing "gratitude diaries," which participants were asked to write down three things each day that they were grateful for. These participants' happiness points increased and continued to increase as they were tested periodically after the experiment. The greatest successes usually occurred about six months after the start of the investigation. This exercise was so successful that many participants, although only asked to keep the diary for a week, continued to keep the diary long after the study ended. Emmons and McCullough (2003) also found similar results. and Lyubomirsky et al. (2005).

While many feelings and personality traits are essential to wellbeing , it turns out that gratitude is probably particularly important. First, a longitudinal study showed that more grateful people coped better with the transition to a new phase of life. Specifically, people who were more grateful before the change were less stressed, less depressed and more satisfied with their relationships three months later. Second, two recent studies have shown that gratitude can have a unique relationship with wellbeing, and that it can explain aspects of wellbeing that other personality traits cannot.

Relationship to altruism

It has also been shown that gratitude improves human altruism . A study conducted by David DeSteno and Monica Bartlett found that gratitude correlates with generosity. This study showed, with the help of a money game, that greater gratitude leads directly to greater donations. This means that grateful people are more likely to set aside personal benefit for the sake of shared benefit (DeSteno & Bartlett, 2010). A study conducted by McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, (2002) found similar correlations between gratitude and empathy, generosity and helpfulness.

Psychological interventions

So since gratitude appears to have a strong influence on well-being, some psychological intervention methods have been developed to increase gratitude. For example, Watkins and colleagues had test takers try different gratitude exercises, such as: For example, think of a living person you are grateful to, write about someone you are grateful to, or write a letter to someone you are grateful to. Test participants in the control group were asked to describe their living room. Participants who participated in a gratitude exercise showed an increase in their positive feelings immediately after the exercise, and this was most pronounced in those whose job it was to think of someone they are grateful to. For participants who were grateful people from the start, the gratitude exercises were most beneficial (see also gratitude diaries above).

Educational interventions

American family therapist Wendy Mogel has dedicated a chapter to the topic of “gratitude” in her influential book The Blessings of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children (2001). Insatiable desire for new things and a lack of gratitude are central abnormalities of many children who are introduced to her in their practice. As a basis for a gratitude education, Mogel recommends that parents first set a good example through their own behavior . Second, establish a thanking culture in their homes; not only would it practice good habits , it would also focus the child's attention on the goods and benefits that they enjoy on a daily basis. Wishes should not always be fulfilled immediately, because the less a child is used to enduring longings, the lower their capacity for satisfaction and gratitude. Mogel points out that children are also natural experts in trivial little joys that adults can easily overlook; Parents should train their awareness of this ability in their child. In addition, to further raise the child's awareness of the benefits they are enjoying, she recommends that parents get the child used to doing unselfish good deeds (such as writing a letter of encouragement to a sick friend rather than writing about it) at an early age complain that the game appointment is canceled).

Closing remarks

According to Cicero , “gratitude is not only the greatest of all virtues, but also the mother of all others”. Many studies have shown the connection between gratitude and well-being not only for the individual but for all affected people. Positive psychology has picked up on these studies and started adding gratitude exercises to its area to increase general wellbeing. In the past, gratitude has been neglected in psychology compared to other states of mind, but in recent years there have been great advances in the study of gratitude and its positive effects on human wellbeing.

Web links

Commons : Category: Gratitude  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Wiktionary: gratitude  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

• Tony Manela:  Gratitude. In: Edward N. Zalta (Ed.): Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy .
• Georg Simmel : Gratitude: A sociological attempt .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Rudolf Walter: Conversation with Br. David Steindl-Rast (PDF; 4.0 MB) Archived from the original on March 23, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 6, 2012. 
2. ↑ Emmons, RA, & Crumpler, CA (2000). Gratitude as a human strength: Appraising the evidence. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19 , 56-69
3. ↑ Linley, PA, Joseph, S., Harrington, S., & Wood, AM (2006). Positive psychology: Past, present, and (possible) future. ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 111 kB) The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1 , 3-16. 
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Wood, AM, Joseph, S., & Linley, PA (2007). Gratitude: The parent of all virtues. ( Memento of the original from July 31, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 88 kB) The Psychologist, 20 , 18-21 
5. ↑ Greenberg, MS (1980). A theory of indebtedness . In KJ Gergen, MS Greenberg & RH Wills (Eds.), Social exchange: Advances in theory and research: New York: Plenum.
6. ^ Watkins, PC, Scheer, J., Ovnicek, M., & Kolts, R. (2006). The debt of gratitude: Dissociating gratitude and indebtedness. Cognition and Emotion, 20 , 217-241, doi : 10.1080 / 02699930500172291 .
7. ↑ Tsang, JA (2006).
8. ↑ Carey, JR, Clicque, SH, Leighton, BA, & Milton, F. (1976). A test of positive reinforcement of customers. Journal of Marketing, 40 , 98-100.
9. ↑ Rind, B., & Bordia, P. (1995). Effect of server's "Thank you" and personalization on restaurant tipping. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 25 , 745-751.
10. ↑ ^{a b} McCullough, ME, Emmons, RA, & Tsang, J. (2002). The grateful disposition: A conceptual and empirical topography. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 112-127
11. ^ ^{A b} Robert A. Emmons, Michael E. McCullough: Highlights from the Research Project of Gratitude and Thankfulness ( Memento from August 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
12. ↑ ^{a b c d} Emmons, Robert A., and Cheryl A. Crumpler. "Gratitude as a Human Strength: Appraising the Evidence." Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 19.1 (2000): 56-69. Print.
13. ^ ^{A b c} Emmons, Robert A., and Teresa T. Kneezel. "Giving Gratitude: Spiritual and Religious Correlates of Gratitude." Journal of Psychology and Christianity 24.2 (2005): 140-48. Print.
14. Jump up ↑ Deuteronomy 28:47
15. ↑ Count Your Blessings - Shabbat L'Chaims for May 8 ( Memento of the original from July 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
16. ↑ Emmons, Robert A., and Cheryl A. Crumpler. "Gratitude as a Human Strength: Appraising the Evidence." Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 19.1 (2000): 56-69. Print.
17. ↑ Wood, Alex, Stephen Joseph, and Alex Linley. "Gratitude - Parent of All Virtues." The Psychologist 20.1 (2007): 18-21. Print.
18. ↑ ^{a b} Wood, AM, Maltby, J., Stewart, N., & Joseph, S. (2008). Conceptualizing gratitude and appreciation as a unitary personality trait. ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 131 kB) Personality and Individual Differences, 44 , 619-630. 
19. ↑ ^{a b} McCullough, ME, Emmons, RA, & Tsang, J. (2002). The grateful disposition: A conceptual and empirical topography. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82 , 112-127.
20. ^ Adler, MG, & Fagley, NS (2005). Appreciation: Individual differences in finding value and meaning as a unique predictor of subjective well-being. Journal of Personality, 73 , 79-114.
21. ^ Watkins, PC, Woodward, K., Stone, T., & Kolts, RL (2003). Gratitude and happiness: Development of a measure of gratitude, and relationships with subjective well-being. "Social Behavior and Personality", 31, 431-451.
22. ↑ Wood, AM, Joseph, S., & Maltby, J. (2008). PersonalPages.Manchester.ac.uk ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 134 kB), Gratitude uniquely predicts satisfaction with life: Incremental validity above the domains and facets of the Five Factor Model. Personality and Individual Differences, 45 , 49-54. 
23. ↑ Kashdan, TB, Uswatte, G., & Julian, T. (2006). Gratitude and hedonic and eudaimonic well-being in Vietnam War veterans. Behavior Research and Therapy, 44, 177-199.
24. ↑ ^{a b} Wood, AM, Joseph, S. & Maltby (2009). Gratitude predicts psychological well-being above the Big Five facets. ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 192 kB) Personality and Individual Differences, 45 , 655-660. 
25. ↑ ^{a b} Wood, AM, Joseph, S., & Linley, PA (2007). Coping style as a psychological resource of grateful people. ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 190 kB) Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 26 , 1108–1125. 
26. ↑ Wood, AM, Joseph, S., Lloyd, J., & Atkins, S. (2009). Gratitude influences sleep through the mechanism of pre-sleep cognitions. ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 188 kB) Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 66 , 43-48 
27. ↑ ^{a b} McCullough, ME, Tsang, J., & Emmons, RA (2004). Gratitude in Intermediate Affective Terrain: Links of grateful moods with individual differences and daily emotional experience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 295-309.
28. ↑ ^{a b} Wood, Alex, Stephen Joseph, and Alex Linley. "Gratitude - Parent of All Virtues." The Psychologist 20.1 (2007): 18-21. Print.
29. ↑ Seligman, MEP, Steen, TA, Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist , 60, 410-421.
30. ↑ Wood, AM, Maltby, J., Gillett, R., Linley, PA, & Joseph, S. (2008). The role of gratitude in the development of social support, stress, and depression: Two longitudinal studies. ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 226 kB) Journal of Research in Personality, 42 , 854-871. 
31. ↑ David DeSteno, Monica Y. Bartlett, Jolie Baumann, Lisa A. Williams, Leah Dickens: Gratitude as moral sentiment: Emotion-guided cooperation in economic exchange . In: emotion . tape 10 , no. 2 , 2010, p. 289-293 , doi : 10.1037 / a0017883 ( PDF ).
32. ↑ Emmons, RA & McCullough, ME (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 84 , 377-389. (electronic copy)  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
33. ^ Watkins, PC, Woodward, K., Stone, T., & Kolts, RL (2003). Gratitude and happiness: Development of a measure of gratitude, and relationships with subjective well-being. Social Behavior and Personality , 31, 431-452.
34. ↑ Wendy Mogel: The Blessings of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children , New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, Singapore: Scribner, 2001, ISBN 0-684-86297-2 , pp. 125-131 (Hardcover; limited online version in Google Book Search - USA )
35. ↑ DeSteno, David, and Monica Bartlett: Gratitude as a Moral Sentiment: Emotion Guided Cooperation in Economic Exchange . In: PsycARTICLES . Vanderbilt University . April 9, 2010. Accessed on August 27, 2010.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.