Why Gratitude Enhances Well-Being: What We Know, What We Need to Know

Gratitude is held in high esteem by virtually everyone, at all times, in all places. From ancient religious scriptures through modern social science research, gratitude is advanced as a desirable human characteristic with the capacity for making life better for oneself and for others. Though gratitude is associated with pleasantness and highly desirable life outcomes, it is certainly not an easy or automatic response to life situations. Resentment and entitlement often seem to come naturally. Individual personality fl aws such as neuroticism or narcissism make it diffi cult to recognize the positive contributions of others. The very fact that gratitude is a virtue suggests that it must be deliberately cultivated. Like any virtue, it must be taught, or at least modeled, and practiced regularly, until it becomes, in an Aristotelian sense, a habit of character. A grateful person is one who is prone to react to the goodness of others in a benevolent and receptive fashion, reciprocating kindness when opportunities arise. The grateful person has been able to overcome tendencies to take things for granted, to feel entitled to the benefi ts they have received, and to take sole credit for all of their advantages in life. They are able to gladly recognize the contributions that others have made to their well-being. Further, they are able to discern when it is appropriate to express gratitude and are not overly concerned with exacting gratitude from those whom they benefi t. What have we learned about gratitude and the grateful personality? First, a defi nition: Gratitude is an acknowledgment that we have received something of value from others. It arises from a posture of openness to others, where we are able to gladly recognize their benevolence. Societies through the ages have long extolled the benefi ts of gratitude, and classical writings have deemed it the “greatest of the virtues.” But only recently has psychological theory and research on gratitude begun to catch up with philosophical commendations. In the fi rst part of this chapter, we review research on gratitude and positive human functioning. First, we briefl y consider the research on gratitude and well-being. After a consideration of this evidence, we explore the mechanisms by which gratitude enhances wellbeing. We consider several explanations and evaluate the empirical evidence for each. In the latter part of the chapter, we establish an agenda for the future by considering some ways in 16