Research Project on Gratitude and Thankfulness

Highlights from the Research Project on Gratitude and Thankfulness by the University of California Psychology Department :

Distinguishing Between Gratefulness and Indebtedness

Gratitude is the “forgotten factor” in happiness research. We are engaged in a long-term research project designed to create and disseminate a large body of novel scientific data on the nature of gratitude, its causes, and its potential consequences for human health and well-being.

In a narrative study, people who write about being indebted to others reports higher levels of anger and lower levels of appreciation, happiness, and love relative to people who write about being grateful to others (Gray & Emmons, 2000).

The experience of indebtedness is less likely to lead to a desire to approach or make contact with others relative to an experience of gratefulness. Thus, indebtedness tends to be an aversive psychological state that is distinct from gratitude.

Learn more about this project at :

http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/labs/emmons/