Research on Gratitude
September 14, 2008
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Gratitude: Three Aspects of Appreciation
1. Noting Gratitude to Oneself: Note to oneself things that one can be grateful for (on a weekly basis)
2. Savoring: Note to oneself or others what one appreciates aesthetically, like a beautiful sunset, a good meal, and so on; mindfulness
3. Expressing Gratitude to Others: Express appreciation to those people one values and is grateful to
Research:
Expressing gratitude has a short-term positive effect (several weeks) on happiness levels (up to a 25% increase). Those who are typically or habitually grateful are happier than those who aren’t habitually grateful
Park, N. Peterson, C. and Seligman, M. (2004). “Strengths of character and well-being among youth,” Unpublished manuscript, U. of Rhode Island.
People who noted weekly the things they were grateful for increased their happiness levels 25% over people who noted their complaints or were just asked to note any events that had occurred during the week.
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
A study was done by Martin Seligman and Jeff Levy with people who scored as severely depressed in a depression inventory. Participants were instructed to recall and write down three good things that happened each day for 15 days. 94% of them went from severely depressed to mildly to moderately depressed during that time.
Cited in Authentic Happiness, Seligman, Martin E. P., 2002, NY: Free Press.
The Gratitude/Appreciation Exercise
At the end of the day, after dinner and before going to sleep, write down three things that went well during the day. Do this every night for a week. The three things you list can be relatively small or large in importance. After each positive event on your list, answer in your own words the question: “Why did this good thing happen?”
This exercise was found to increase happiness and decrease depression up to 6 months after the week [note: 60% of participants carried on the habit]
Seligman, M.; Steen, T.A.; Park, N.; and Peterson, C. and (2005). “Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions,” American Psychologist, 60:410-421.
