Author: Emmons, Robert A.; McCullough, Michael E.
Description: The effect of a grateful outlook on psychological and physical well-being was examined. In Studies 1 and 2, participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 experimental conditions (hassles, gratitude listing, and either neutral life events or social comparison); they then kept weekly (Study 1) or daily (Study 2) records of their moods, coping behaviors, health behaviors, physical symptoms, and overall life appraisals. In a 3rd study, persons with neuromuscular disease were randomly assigned to either the gratitude condition or to a control condition. The gratitude-outlook groups exhibited heightened well-being across several, though not all, of the outcome measures across the 3 studies, relative to the comparison groups. The effect on positive affect appeared to be the most robust finding. Results suggest that a conscious focus on blessings may have emotional and interpersonal benefits.
Subject headings: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Affect; Analysis of Variance; Attitude; Female; Health Behavior; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Social Behavior; Surveys and Questionnaires
Publication year: 2003
Journal or book title: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Volume: 84
Issue: 2
Pages: 377-389
Find the full text: https://pages.ucsd.edu/~memccullough/gratitude/Emmons_McCullough_2003_JPSP.pdf
Find more like this one (cited by): https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=8454050914536325149&as_sdt=1000005&sciodt=0,16&hl=en
Serial number: 4068