What is the Optimal Way to Give Thanks? Comparing the Effects of Gratitude Expressed Privately, One-to-One via Text, or Publicly on Social Media

Walsh, Lisa C.; Regan, Annie; Twenge, Jean M.; Lyubomirsky, Sonja

doi:10.1007/s42761-022-00150-5

Cited by 12 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Examples of doing good include but are not limited to, acts of kindness, donating, volunteering, promoting and posting positive content or comments on digital platforms ( Pettengill, 2020 ), sharing authentic information or experiences, preparing for timely responses to crises and supporting people in need ( Palen et al, 2007 ; Schueller et al, 2019 ; Hunsaker et al, 2020 ; Schueller and Torous, 2021 ; Tygielski et al, 2021 ), or sharing positive computer-mediated communication ( Riva, 2002 ; Al-Zoubi and Shamma, 2021 ; Cavalheiro et al, 2022 ; Walsh et al, 2022 ).…”

Section: Engaging With the Goodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engaging in the good with technology: a framework for examining positive technology use

Villamil

Heshmati

2023

Front. Psychol.

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The focus on the negative side of technology has become a prominent factor in the understanding of the interactions between humans and technology. However, there is a positive side to technology use that has been less investigated in scientific research. Well-being researchers have determined that it is not just the absence of negative emotions or experiences, but rather the presence and frequency of positive ones that matter most. Therefore, despite the scarcity of research on the positive side of technology, the present conceptual paper focuses on how technology may be used for the good to produce psychological benefits (e.g., greater happiness, lower loneliness, higher peer endorsement). Based on existing literature, we posit at least three directions for good interactions with technology: (1) “seeing good” by focusing on positive visual cues through technology use; (2) “feeling good” by focusing on good feelings that arise from technology use; and (3) “doing good” by focusing on positive actions that can be enacted via technology use. Based on the synthesis of these three components, we propose a framework for technology laden engagement in the good, dubbed as, the Engagement in the Good with Technology (EGT) Framework. Through this framework, we explain how these three distinct aspects of seeing, feeling, and doing good can co-occur and be interrelated, and in turn potentially lead to upward spirals of positive outcomes.

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Section: Engaging With the Goodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engaging in the good with technology: a framework for examining positive technology use

Villamil

Heshmati

2023

Front. Psychol.

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“…Walsh and colleagues ( 2023 ) sought to determine if effects differ depending on the social dynamics of how gratitude is expressed. Using an experimental design, they examined if an easily scalable digital gratitude activity positively impacts psychological well-being, and also, they evaluated if effects might be stronger when individuals express their gratitude privately (e.g., write a letter but do not share it with anyone), share gratitude with a benefactor via text in a one-on-one interaction, or share gratitude with a benefactor in a public form via social media as compared with a control group.…”

Section: Part Ii—interventions To Modify Psychological Well-beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction to Special Issue: Interventions to Modify Psychological Well-Being and Population Health

Kim

Moskowitz

Kubzansky³

2023

Affec Sci

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Psychological ill-being is on the rise, with 1 in 5 Americans suffering from a mental disorder in any given year. Additional evidence demonstrates that psychological well-being has also decreased over time. These trends are particularly worrisome given the substantial and growing body of evidence demonstrating that psychological ill-being (e.g., depression, anxiety, anger) is associated with an elevated risk of developing chronic diseases and premature mortality, while aspects of psychological well-being (e.g., positive affect, sense of purpose and meaning, life satisfaction) are independently associated with improved physical health outcomes. An underexplored but promising approach to enhancing both psychological and physical health is through developing a set of tools that specifically target psychological well-being (often referred to as positive psychological interventions (PPIs) although many interventions developed outside the field of positive psychology also achieve these goals). Such interventions hold promise as a strategy for improving population health. However, critical knowledge gaps hold us back, and we have not yet developed a robust set of intervention strategies that can improve psychological well-being in meaningful, durable, and scalable ways that would also have downstream effects on physical health. The goal of this special issue is to help address these knowledge gaps by bringing together current conceptual frameworks, critical examination of key constructs, and novel empirical evidence needed to identify and examine interventions that can modify psychological well-being, particularly those that have the potential to be scaled at the population level and with durable effects.

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“…Notably, experimental manipulations of gratitude draw on a variety of gratitude activities (e.g., prompting participants to express gratitude through letters, lists, or verbally), and more research is needed to understand how features of these activities impact their efficacy (Jans-Beken et al, 2019). Researchers have begun to investigate the nuanced differences between methods of gratitude expression, but more work is needed to understand how specific features of these activities impact well-being and other positive outcomes (Kaczmarek et al, 2015;Sheldon & Yu, 2021;Walsh, Regan, Twenge et al, 2022). Because gratitude activities may differ in format (e.g., writing a gratitude letter or a gratitude list) and content (e.g., expressing gratitude to a specific person or about the conditions of one's life), they may differentially impact psychological functioning and well-being.…”

Section: Gratitude Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are Some Ways of Expressing Gratitude More Beneficial Than Others? Results From a Randomized Controlled Experiment

2022

Self Cite

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Gratitude activities have been shown to increase well-being and other positive outcomes in numerous experiments to date. The current study tested whether self-directed gratitude interventions that vary by type (i.e., social vs. nonsocial) and format (i.e., long-form letters vs. shorter lists) produce differential benefits. To that end, 958 Australian adults were assigned to one of six activities to complete each day for 1 week, including five gratitude activities that varied by type and format and an active control condition (i.e., keeping track of daily activities). Regressed change analyses revealed that, overall, long-form writing exercises (i.e., essays and letters) resulted in greater subjective well-being and other positive outcomes than lists. Indeed, those who were instructed to write social and nonsocial gratitude lists did not differ from controls on any outcomes. However, participants who wrote unconstrained gratitude lists—that is, those who wrote about any topics they wanted—reported greater feelings of gratitude and positive affect than did controls. Finally, relative to the other gratitude conditions, participants who wrote gratitude letters to particular individuals in their lives not only showed stronger feelings of gratitude, elevation, and other positive emotions but also reported feeling more indebted. This study demonstrates that not only does gratitude “work” to boost well-being relative to an active neutral activity, but that some forms of gratitude may be more effective than others. We hope these findings help scholars and practitioners to develop, tailor, implement, and scale future gratitude-based interventions.

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What is the Optimal Way to Give Thanks? Comparing the Effects of Gratitude Expressed Privately, One-to-One via Text, or Publicly on Social Media

Cited by 12 publications

References 55 publications

Engaging in the good with technology: a framework for examining positive technology use

Engaging in the good with technology: a framework for examining positive technology use

Introduction to Special Issue: Interventions to Modify Psychological Well-Being and Population Health

Are Some Ways of Expressing Gratitude More Beneficial Than Others? Results From a Randomized Controlled Experiment

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