Glad to help out: Grateful people are more likely to engage in costly prosocial action

Gratitude is not without its critics. Some have argued that it encourages complacency, thereby discouraging efforts to challenge the status quo. Although gratitude has been shown to promote prosocial behavior, most studies have focused on actions with relatively minor costs. Gratitude's impact on costly prosocial actions aimed at advancing the greater good remains underexplored. To address this gap, we analyzed data from a U.S. nationally representative sample (Study 1; N = 2,016), a longitudinal study of nationally representative samples across 22 countries (Study 2; N = 207,919), and a field study that surveyed individuals at blood drives and flu shot clinics (Study 3; N = 396). These studies yielded robust evidence that dispositionally grateful individuals are more likely to engage in costly prosocial actions. Two experiments that manipulated feelings of gratitude-one with a U.S. Prolific sample (Study 4a; N = 360) and one with a U.S. college student sample (Study 4b; N = 362)-did not result in a similar effect for state gratitude (although those who scored higher on trait gratitude in these experiments reported greater intentions to engage in costly prosocial actions). Together, our findings challenge claims that gratitude reinforces the status quo and undermines efforts to bring about societal change. Instead, we show that more grateful people are more likely to take on the hard, costly work of advancing the greater good. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).