Gratitude and well-being: a review and theoretical integration
Gratitude and well-being: a review and theoretical integration
This paper presents a new model of gratitude as a "life orientation towards noticing and appreciating the positive in life", incorporating not only the gratitude that arises following help from others, but also a habitual focusing on and appreciating the positive aspects of life. Research into individual differences in gratitude and well-being is reviewed, including gratitude and psychopathology, personality, relationships, health, subjective and eudemonic well-being, and humanistically orientated functioning. Gratitude is strongly related to well-being, however defined, and this link may be unique and causal. Interventions to clinically increase gratitude are critically reviewed, and concluded to be promising, although the positive psychology literature may have neglected current limitations, and a distinct research strategy is suggested. Finally, mechanisms whereby gratitude may relate to well-being are discussed, including schematic biases, coping, positive affect, and broaden-and-build principles. Gratitude is relevant to clinical psychology due to (a) strong explanatory power in understanding well-being, and (b) the potential of improving well-being through fostering gratitude with simple exercises
gratitude, depression, well-being, positive psychology, intervention, post-traumatic growth
890-905
Wood, Alex M.
20a2b99a-9534-4e06-a94a-601c23239424
Froh, Jeffrey J.
c950db9b-a1d6-42da-a89e-19a32233cef3
Geraghty, Adam W.A.
2c6549fe-9868-4806-b65a-21881c1930af
20 March 2010
Wood, Alex M.
20a2b99a-9534-4e06-a94a-601c23239424
Froh, Jeffrey J.
c950db9b-a1d6-42da-a89e-19a32233cef3
Geraghty, Adam W.A.
2c6549fe-9868-4806-b65a-21881c1930af
Wood, Alex M., Froh, Jeffrey J. and Geraghty, Adam W.A.
(2010)
Gratitude and well-being: a review and theoretical integration.
Clinical Psychology Review, 30 (7), .
(doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2010.03.005).
(PMID:20451313)
Abstract
This paper presents a new model of gratitude as a "life orientation towards noticing and appreciating the positive in life", incorporating not only the gratitude that arises following help from others, but also a habitual focusing on and appreciating the positive aspects of life. Research into individual differences in gratitude and well-being is reviewed, including gratitude and psychopathology, personality, relationships, health, subjective and eudemonic well-being, and humanistically orientated functioning. Gratitude is strongly related to well-being, however defined, and this link may be unique and causal. Interventions to clinically increase gratitude are critically reviewed, and concluded to be promising, although the positive psychology literature may have neglected current limitations, and a distinct research strategy is suggested. Finally, mechanisms whereby gratitude may relate to well-being are discussed, including schematic biases, coping, positive affect, and broaden-and-build principles. Gratitude is relevant to clinical psychology due to (a) strong explanatory power in understanding well-being, and (b) the potential of improving well-being through fostering gratitude with simple exercises
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Published date: 20 March 2010
Keywords:
gratitude, depression, well-being, positive psychology, intervention, post-traumatic growth
Organisations:
Primary Care & Population Sciences
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Local EPrints ID: 146043
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/146043
ISSN: 0272-7358
PURE UUID: 79b986cb-527a-4b12-af0e-de13ffa6566d
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Date deposited: 20 Apr 2010 13:10
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:56
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Author:
Alex M. Wood
Author:
Jeffrey J. Froh
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