Gratitude and the Good Life

Gratitude – more than just a platitude? The science behind gratitude and health

“…Another reason may reflect the lack of a model describing the underlying mechanisms through which gratitude influences outcomes. Although several general theories regarding gratitude exist (Fredrickson, 2004b;Watkins, 2014;Watkins et al, 2014), these have not been specified into models depicting the hypothesized causal relationships. Clearly specified models would allow the associations between the different components proposed in these theories (e.g., positive affect, gratitude, social support) and outcomes to be empirically examined and would guide the development and implementation of more informed and effective interventions.…”

Looking for happiness in all the wrong places: The moderating role of gratitude and affect in the materialism–life satisfaction relationship

“…Abbe, Tkach, & Lyubormirsky, 2003;Mor et al, 2010) and the need for belongingness (Buckley, Winkel, & Leary, 2004;Eisenberger, Liebermann, & Williams, 2003;Williams, Cheung, & Choi, 2000) suggest that an undue focus on the self and the lack of a focus on others might be detrimental for well-being. In contrast, gratitude's focus on others as benefactors might strengthen social ties (Algoe, Haidt, & Gable, 2008), leading to an increase in well-being and life satisfaction (Watkins, 2014). Another possible mechanism might be differences in focus of attention between materialism and gratitude.…”

“…Because gratitude tends to be positively related to life satisfaction (McCullough et al, 2002;Toepfer et al, 2012;Tsang et al, 2014;Watkins et al, 2003) and negatively related to negative affect (McCullough et al, 2002;Watkins, 2014), the relationship between materialism and lessened life satisfaction might be particularly strong for those individuals low in gratitude. In contrast, for those individuals who are able to feel grateful for their material wealth, the detrimental effects of materialism on life satisfaction might be mitigated.…”

“…Gratitude, both as a state and a trait, is empirically linked with various indices of well-being (Emmons & Crumpler, 2000;McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, 2002;Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005;Watkins, 2014;Wood, Froh, & Geraghty, 2010). For example, Emmons and McCullough (2003) found that individuals who completed gratitude journals for a number of weeks showed more positive life appraisals and better expectations for the coming week, when compared to individuals who instead wrote about daily hassles.…”

“…Fifth, gratitude may enhance social ties, which can help to counteract negative affect. Watkins (2014) theorized that underlying all these mechanisms is the theme of self-transcendence: Gratitude enables individuals to move from a focus on the self to a focus on others, thus counteracting negative affect that might come with self-focus and replacing it with the positive affect that comes from realizing that one has received benefits from others.…”