Exploring the cognitive context of gratitude to God: emotional impact and appraisals of benefits from God

In two pre-registered studies we investigated the cognitive context of gratitude to God (GTG) and fading positive affect of grateful memories. Although gratitude has been shown to causally impact happiness, few studies have investigated how the nature of the benefactor might affect experienced grati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of positive psychology 2024-01, Vol.19 (1), p.166-182
Main Authors: Watkins, Philip C., Frederick, Michael, Davis, Don E., Emmons, Robert A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Altruism
appraisals
Emotions
fading affect
God
Gratitude
gratitude to God
Happiness
Memories
Positive emotions
Recall
spirituality/religiosity
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Summary:In two pre-registered studies we investigated the cognitive context of gratitude to God (GTG) and fading positive affect of grateful memories. Although gratitude has been shown to causally impact happiness, few studies have investigated how the nature of the benefactor might affect experienced gratitude. Participants first recalled a positive event, a human-caused benefit, or a God-caused benefit. After recall they reported their current momentary emotions, recalled past emotions from the time of the event and emotion appraisals. Grateful memories showed less fading positive affect over time compared to other positive memories. Appraisals of value and altruism predicted both GTG and gratitude to humans (GTH). Positive spiritual appraisals (e.g. positive interpretations about one's relationship with God, the sacred giftedness of the event) were uniquely associated with GTG. When it comes to felt gratitude, the nature of the benefactor does matter.
ISSN:1743-9760
1743-9779
DOI:10.1080/17439760.2023.2230458