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Does gratitude enhance prosociality?: A meta-analytic review
Lawrence K Ma1, Richard J Tunney2, Eamonn Ferguson1
1Personality, Social Psychology, and Health (PSPH) Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Nottingham.
Psychological Bulletin
|April 14, 2017
Summary
Gratitude is moderately linked to prosocial behavior. This association is stronger when gratitude is an affective state, benefit-triggered, and measured in vivo, highlighting its role in social interactions.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Theoretical models propose a link between gratitude and prosociality.
- Empirical evidence for this connection lacks comprehensive quantitative synthesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantitatively synthesize the association between gratitude and prosociality.
- To identify moderators influencing the gratitude-prosociality link.
Main Methods:
- Meta-analysis of 252 effect sizes from 91 studies (N = 18,342).
- Examined gratitude as an affective state versus trait.
- Differentiated between reciprocal and nonreciprocal prosocial outcomes.
- Compared benefit-triggered and generalized gratitude.
Main Results:
- A moderate positive correlation (r = .374) was found between gratitude and prosociality.
- The association was stronger for reciprocal compared to nonreciprocal outcomes.
- Affective state gratitude, benefit-triggered gratitude, and in vivo measurements yielded larger effect sizes.
Conclusions:
- Gratitude is a significant predictor of prosocial behavior.
- The nature of gratitude (state vs. trait) and its measurement influence the observed association.
- Findings underscore the importance of gratitude in fostering social connections and cooperation.