It is apparently scientifically well-documented that gratitude increases psychological well-being. Psychological well-being being something that I’m for, I think. Anticipating the unyielding, inevitable onslaught of the upcoming (un)holydays compounded by what is sure to be very little direct, sustained sunlight, I’ve decided to test this principle. I hereby commit to document weekly favorites for which I am grateful. Below are this week’s favorite . . .
Find on the internet:
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/10/the-first-person-i-came-out-to-was-god.html
Email response:
“I’m sorry I flamed you. The last line is the only one I meant. I don’t have the right temperament for e-mail. Please write back.”
Statement from the Godbox:
“There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”
Wallace thing:
“Meg asked me to go to this dinner and dance thing. I mean, can you believe that?” – Or, “I just don’t get how a yedi can be black. Even the leopards in the Himalayas are white.”
Simon thing:
“I love texting.” – Or, “I don’t want vegetarian. I want combo! And, breadsticks.”
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3 comments:
So what is the thinking behind the supposed benefits of an attitude of gratitude? Why does it apparently increase psychological well-being? If this post is more about documenting and less about explaining please disregard.
Or maybe psychological well-being increases gratitude?
I'm trying to me less meta and more mega, so apologies to Sanford and pb for the very, very slow response. However, I do value the question and the conversation. In response, Kevin found the following on PsychWiki:
A quantitative analysis of the effect of gratitude on positive affect confirms conventional wisdom. Specifically, there appears to be a significant, consistent, and sizeable effect of gratitude on positive affect. This effect was confirmed in both experimental and correlational studies. It was found in a diverse set of populations including adults on the internet, college students, and in clinical populations. Given these findings, gratitude can be still be thought of as a moral emotion which regulates our behavior in order to promote social ties. But we should not discount the significant self-serving benefits of being thankful. Happiness researchers often talk about the existence of a hedonic treadmill, which points out that the kinds of things that most people focus on to improve our happiness do not have the consistent effects that we might expect. In contrast, gratitude appears to be a promising candidate as a route to effecting lasting increases in personal well being.
Intriguing, no?
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