Author: Tsang, Jo‐Ann

Source: Cognition and Emotion, Volume 20, Number 1, Number 1/January 2006 , pp. 138-148(11)

Publisher: Psychology Press, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:

McCullough, Kilpatrick, Emmons, and Larson (2001) posited that gratitude prompts individuals to behave prosocially. However, research supporting the prosocial effect of gratitude has relied on scenario and self-report methodology. To address limitations of previous research, this experiment utilised a laboratory induction of gratitude, a method that is potentially more covert than scenarios and that elicits actual grateful emotion. Prosocial responses to gratitude—operationalised as the distribution of resources to another—were paired with a self-report measure of gratitude to test the prosocial effect of gratitude. To investigate positive mood as an alternative explanation, this experiment compared responses of individuals receiving a favour to responses of individuals receiving a positive outcome by chance. A total of 40 participants were randomly assigned to either a Favour or Chance condition. Participants receiving a favour helped more and reported more gratitude compared to participants in the Chance condition.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02699930500172341

Affiliations: 1: Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA

Publication date: 2006-01-01

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