Gratitude, indebtedness, and reciprocity: an extended replication of Bartlett & DeSteno (2006)

Abstract

In a landmark study in 2006, Bartlett and DeSteno found that receiving help promoted reciprocal behavior and that this effect was mediated by gratitude. Recent research, however, suggested that indebtedness is more closely associated with reciprocation than gratitude. Therefore, we examined whether reciprocal behavior could (also) be attributed to indebtedness. Specifically, we attempted to replicate and extend Bartlett and DeSteno's Study 1 by additionally including a measure of indebtedness. Surprisingly, the replication was not successful. We did not find support for the idea that receiving help promoted reciprocal behavior, and neither gratitude nor indebtedness was associated with reciprocal behavior. Finally, we call for attention that the extant literature may be inconclusive regarding the presumed prosocial effects of gratitude.

Appreciating social science research on gratitude: An integrative review for organizational scholarship on gratitude in the workplace

“…In contrast, some studies regarding the effects of state gratitude on reciprocity have produced nonsignificant results (e.g., Halali et al, 2017; Peng et al, 2020). Peng and colleagues (2020) did not find a significant effect of state gratitude on reciprocal behaviors despite using the same experimental paradigm at Bartlett and DeSteno (2006). Peng et al noted that in the meta‐analysis by Ma et al (2017), there has been a surprising lack of studies examining the effect of beneficiary gratitude on direct, effortful (not merely intentional) reciprocity to a benefactor.…”

“…In contrast, some studies regarding the effects of state gratitude on reciprocity have produced nonsignificant results (e.g., Halali et al, 2017;Peng et al, 2020). Peng and colleagues (2020) did not find a significant effect of state gratitude on reciprocal behaviors despite using the same experimental paradigm at Bartlett and DeSteno (2006) found that state gratitude predicted these women's time spent with their sisters in addition to their feelings of integration with their sorority.…”

Emotional consequences of social debt sharing in communal relationships.

“…Furthermore, quite a few researchers highlighted the positive function of indebtedness in maintaining equity. They posited that restoring equity is also important in forming long-term relationships in social exchange (Adams & Miller, 2022; Goyal et al, 2022; Naito & Sakata, 2010; Peng et al, 2018, 2020), which corresponds to Molm’s (2010) idea that reciprocity in repeated exchanges, often executed tacitly without negotiation, lays the foundation for trust required to form communal relationships (e.g., Molm et al, 2007). Results of the present research are also consistent with this notion that even transactional and aversive indebtedness has an important social function, which is similar to the reparative role of guilt (e.g., De Hooge et al, 2007; Ketelaar & Tung Au, 2003; Nelissen et al, 2007).…”

“…Receiving favors commonly triggers both feelings of gratitude and indebtedness (Gleason et al, 2008; Peng et al, 2018; Tsang, 2006a; Watkins et al, 2006). For a long time, researchers struggled to disentangle the behavioral effects of these emotions (Goyal et al, 2022; Peng et al, 2020; Tsang, 2006a, 2006b, 2007; Watkins et al, 2006). As a result, indebtedness has simply been perceived as gratitude’s ugly twin, the concomitant of a stingy focus on felt obligation to reciprocate, rather than perceived opportunities to build and strengthen social bonds, which was perceived as the providence of gratitude.…”

Transcendent indebtedness to God: A new construct in the psychology of religion and spirituality.

“…For example, indebtedness may be a better predictor of reciprocal behavior than gratitude alone (Peng et al, 2018). However, some research has not found this association (Peng et al, 2019;Watkins et al, 2006), which raises the question: in which circumstances does indebtedness promote positive affect and prosocial reciprocity? There is empirical evidence to suggest that when indebtedness is measured in agentic terms ("I want to repay" vs. "I have to repay"), it is associated with positive emotions (Buchtel et al, 2018).…”