Gratitude Unveiled: Exploring Its Impact on Life Satisfaction
Keywords:
Gratitude, life satisfaction, university students, positive psychology, well-being, life happiness, thankfulnessAbstract
Background of the Study: In the case of the current research, the objective was to assess the relationship between university students’ life happiness and thankfulness.
Methods: Out of a student population of a particular university, 100 participants, 50 of them being female and 50 of them being male, aged between nineteen and twenty-four, were selected. The participants completed the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the Gratitude Questionnaire (GQ-6). Concerning the relationships between the variables, Pearson’s correlation coefficient was employed to draw the relationship between life satisfaction and thankfulness.
Results: The correlation between the levels of thankfulness and the levels of life satisfaction was established to be moderately positive, r =. 416, p <. 05; thus, the higher the levels of thankfulness, the higher the levels of life satisfaction. How below, the average scores for life satisfaction and thankfulness were 22. 25 (SD = 5.39) and 28. Using the Likert scale of the questionnaire, the Phenomenology, Mean =. 17 (SD = 5.0)
Conclusion: The results of this particular study make it easy to appreciate the positive relationship between happiness and thankfulness. Thus, gratitude significantly influences the level of happiness in life; there are also other factors, such as personality traits, cultural background, and beliefs. The conclusion drawn from the research findings raises aspiration for gratitude therapies to work positively to improve human well-being and therefore postulate that strengthening thankfulness may help provoke a state of general mental health and satisfaction with life in the peoples of Europe. Future research should examine how the characteristic of thankfulness may influence life satisfaction in degrees by establishing its relationship with other characteristics.
References
1. Algoe, S. B., & Haidt, J. (2009). Witnessing excellence in action: the “other-praising” emotions of elevation, gratitude, and admiration. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(2), 105–127.
2. Algoe, S. B., Fredrickson, B. L., & Gable, S. L. (2013). The social functions of the emotion of gratitude via expression. Emotion, 13(4), 605-609.
3. Alkozei, A. M., Froh, J. J., Wood, A. M., & Park, N. (2018). The reciprocal relationship between gratitude and life satisfaction: Evidence from two longitudinal field studies. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2480.
4. Bryant, F. B., & Veroff, J. (2006). Savoring life’s joys and coping with its sorrows: The role of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 61(6), 581.
5. Emmons, R. A. (2008). Thanks!: How the new science of gratitude can make you happier. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
6. Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377–389.
7. Froh, J. J., Watkins, P. C., Secker, J. A., & Kashdan, T. B. (2011). Gratitude and subjective well-being: A meta-analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(1), 167.
8. Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 359(1449), 1367-1377.
9. Garland, E. L., Fredrickson, B. L., Kring, A. M., Johnson, D. P., Meyer, P. S., & Penn, D. L. (2010). Upward spirals of positive emotions counter downward spirals of negativity: Insights from the broaden-and-build theory and affective neuroscience on the treatment of emotion dysfunctions and deficits in psychopathology. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(7), 849–864.
10. Kashdan, T. B., Mishra, A., Breen, W. E., & Froh, J. J. (2009). Gender differences in gratitude: Examining appraisals, narratives, the willingness to express emotions, and changes in psychological needs. Journal of Personality, 77(3), 691–730.
11. Kleiman, E. M., Adams, L. M., Kashdan, T. B., & Riskind, J. H. (2013). Gratitude and grit indirectly reduce risk of suicidal ideations by enhancing meaning in life: Evidence for a mediated moderation model. Journal of Research in Personality, 47(5), 539–546.
12. Krause, N. (2009). Religious Involvement, Gratitude, and Change in Depressive Symptoms Over Time. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 19(3), 155–172.
13. Lin, C.-C. (2015). Self-esteem mediates the relationship between dispositional gratitude and well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 85(October), 145–148.
14. Morgan, B., Gulliford, L., & Kristjánsson, K. (2017). A new approach to measuring moral virtues: The Multi-Component Gratitude Measure. Personality and Individual Differences, 107, 179–189.
15. Nezlek, J. B., Newman, D. B., & Thrash, T. M. (2017). A daily diary study of relationships between feelings of gratitude and well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 12(4), 323-332.
16. Peterson, C., Ruch, W., Beermann, U., Park, N., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2007). Strengths of
17. character, orientations to happiness, and life satisfaction. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2(3),149–156.
18. Rosenberg, E. L. (1998). Levels of analysis and the organization of affect. Review of General Psychology, 2(3), 247–270.
19. Saucier, G., & Goldberg, L. R. (1998). What is beyond the big five? Journal of Personality, 66(4), 495–524.
20. Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60(5), 410-421.
21. Wood, A. M., & Froh, J. J. (2019). The gratitude project: How the science of appreciation changes your life. Harvard Business Review Press.
22. Wood, A. M., Froh, J. J., & Geraghty, A. W. (2010). Gratitude and well-being: A review and theoretical integration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(6), 1020-1037.
23. Wood, A. M., Joseph, S., & Linley, P. A. (2007). Coping Style as a Psychological Resource of Grateful People. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 26(9), 1076–1093. https:// doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2007.26.9.1076
24. Wood, A. M., Joseph, S., & Linley, P. A. (2008). Gratitude predicts psychological well-being above the Big Five facets. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94(6), 624-630.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Archives of Management and Social Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.