Abstract
In the past, there has been a dearth of research exploring related factors regarding the benefactor in the research of gratitude. The focus of this study is to investigate whether different benefactors elicit different levels of gratitude in beneficiaries after conferring a favor. Using college students as the research subjects, questionnaires were conducted after subjects read the experimental text to explore whether college students’ gratitude is different when two types of benefactors (friends and parents) give the same help. This study found that when the benefactor makes a big effort to confer a favor and the favor is very important to the beneficiary, there is no significant difference in the gratitude toward their parents and friends among college students and the level of gratitude for both is very high. However, when the favor only is conferred through an ordinary amount of effort and the favor is of ordinary importance to the beneficiary, college students have a higher level of gratitude to their friends, but a lower level of gratitude to their parents. Therefore, college students do not necessarily have higher gratitude to their friends than to their parents; the amount of effort exerted by the benefactor and the importance of the favor to the beneficiary are two key factors.
Highlights
Gratitude is an old concept, research on the topic of gratitude has only received widespread attention in the past decade
This study found that when the benefactor makes a big effort to confer a favor and the favor is very important to the beneficiary, there is no significant difference in the gratitude toward their parents and friends among college students and the level of gratitude for both is very high
Study 2 with the experiment of hospital care supports H1, which found that college students have a higher level of gratitude to their friends, but a lower level of gratitude to their parents, when their parents and friends give the same help
Summary
Gratitude is an old concept, research on the topic of gratitude has only received widespread attention in the past decade. Even though there have been many achievements in research on gratitude, many questions have yet to be clarified. Previous studies have indicated that the benefactor’s motives for conferring a benefit (Pelser, de Ruyter, Wetzels, Grewal, Cox, & van Beuningen, 2015; Tsang, 2006b), the amount of effort exerted by the benefactor (Pelser, de Ruyter, Wetzels, Grewal, Cox, & van Beuningen, 2015), and the benefactor’s consciousness when conferring a favor (Tsang, 2006a) influence gratitude. The relationship between the benefactor and the beneficiary (e.g., parents and friends) is rarely examined. The motive of this study is whether the gratitude levels of the beneficiary is the same after different benefactors confer a favor. Based on the aforementioned research motive, the question awaiting to be answered by this study is as follows. If the favor conferred is the same, is the level of gratitude elicited the same regardless of who (e.g., parents and friends) is doing the favor?
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