A grateful eye towards the future? Dispositional gratitude relates to consideration of future consequences

Abstract

Although individual differences in dispositional gratitude have been shown to relate with both personal well-being and intergenerational beneficence, no work has yet examined whether trait gratitude is correlated with consideration of future consequences for one's self. Across six studies (total N = 2758) we find robust evidence for a significant and positive correlation between dispositional gratitude and consideration of future consequences (CFC): r = 0.33, SE = 0.02, Z = 16.82, p < .001, 95% CI [0.30, 0.37]. Further, we show that related dispositional factors, including feelings of indebtedness and valuing fairness, do not show a similar relationship with CFC. The association between gratitude and CFC also remains significant when controlling for core personality traits. These initial findings highlight that gratitude may be a novel leverage point for increasing individuals' consideration of self-relevant long-term outcomes; in turn, this relationship may prove useful in promoting individual and community well-being in the future.