Why does a grateful mind prevent an aggressive hand? Perspective taking mediated the relation between gratitude and two types of aggression among individuals in the general population and prisoners

Abstract

ABSTRACT Previous research has shown that gratitude can reduce aggression via enhanced empathy. However, further research is needed to distinguish different subtypes of empathy and aggression, and to evaluate the relationship among highly aggressive individuals. The current study investigated the roles of two subtypes of empathy (perspective taking and empathic concern) in the relationship between gratitude and two subtypes of aggression (reactive and proactive aggressions) among general population (N = 363, Study 1) and male prisoners (N = 241, Study 2). In both studies, parallel mediational analyses supported that perspective taking, rather than empathic concern, plays a critical role in correlating gratitude with two subtypes of aggression. This effect was more significant in prisoners than in the community population. These findings enhance the understanding of the underlying mechanism linking gratitude to aggression and imply a new promising target for gratitude-based interventions to reduce aggression in prisoners.