Gratitude Exercises Research Articles

Feasibility, acceptability, and impact of a web-based gratitude exercise among individuals in outpatient treatment for alcohol use disorder

This mixed methods pilot study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of a web-based gratitude exercise (the ‘Three Good Things’ exercise (TGT)) among 23 adults in outpatient treatment for alcohol use disorder. Participants were randomized to TGT or a placebo condition. The intervention was feasible with high rates of completion. Participants found TGT acceptable and welcomed the structure of daily e-mails; however, they found it difficult at times and discontinued TGT when the study ended. Participants associated TGT with gratitude, although there were no observed changes in grateful disposition over time. TGT had a significant effect on decreasing negative affect and increasing unactivated (e.g. feeling calm, at ease) positive affect, although there were no differences between groups at the 8 week follow-up. Qualitative results converged on quantitative findings that TGT was convenient, feasible, and acceptable and additionally suggested that TGT was beneficial for engendering positive cognitions and reinforcing recovery.

When do people benefit from gratitude practice?

Accumulating research shows that gratitude exercises are effective for improving well-being, but the pattern of results also suggests that moderators are likely at play. Researchers have begun investigating moderators of gratitude exercise impact, but it remains unclear which are most important. To help clarify this issue, the present study investigated trait gratitude, baseline depressive symptoms, and inclusion of a rationale as moderators of the efficacy of a two-week gratitude list exercise compared to a daily events list control condition. Results revealed that the gratitude exercise decreased depressive symptoms among participants high in such symptoms at baseline and eliminated the negative effect of low baseline trait gratitude on later happiness, positive emotions, and depressive symptoms. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Feasibility and utility of positive psychology exercises for suicidal inpatients

ObjectiveThe objective was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of nine positive psychology exercises delivered to patients hospitalized for suicidal thoughts or behaviors, and to secondarily explore the relative impact of the exercises. MethodParticipants admitted to a psychiatric unit for suicidal ideation or behavior completed daily positive psychology exercises while hospitalized. Likert-scale ratings of efficacy (optimism, hopelessness, perceived utility) and ease of completion were consolidated and compared across exercises using mixed models accounting for age, missing data and exercise order. Overall effects of exercise on efficacy and ease were also examined using mixed models. ResultsFifty-two (85.3%) of 61 participants completed at least one exercise, and 189/213 (88.7%) assigned exercises were completed. There were overall effects of exercise on efficacy (χ2=19.39; P=.013) but not ease of completion (χ2=11.64; P=.17), accounting for age, order and skipped exercises. Effect (Cohen’s d) of exercise on both optimism and hopelessness was moderate for the majority of exercises. Exercises related to gratitude and personal strengths ranked highest. Both gratitude exercises had efficacy scores that were significantly (P=.001) greater than the lowest-ranked exercise (forgiveness). ConclusionIn this exploratory project, positive psychology exercises delivered to suicidal inpatients were feasible and associated with short-term gains in clinically relevant outcomes.

Improving well-being with a gratitude exercise in Japanese workers: A randomized controlled trial

Few individual-focused interventions that focus on improving the well-being of employees have been conducted in the workplace. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of worksite intervention consisting of a gratitude exercise on employees’ well-being, such as positive affect, life satisfaction and subjective happiness among Japanese workers. A randomized controlled trial was conducted among daytime local-government employees. Participants in the gratitude group were asked to write down up to five people to whom the participant was grateful or thankful in the past week, and participants in the control group were asked to write down up to five events that occurred during the past week, for 4 weeks. Gratitude-related feelings, positive affect, life satisfaction, and subjective happiness were measured as well-being indices three times, that is, at baseline, immediately post intervention and one-month after the intervention. Two-way analysis of variance revealed that gratitude-related feelings and positive affect improved in both groups. No significant effects were observed on life satisfaction and subjective happiness. Gratitude intervention may be beneficial to increase gratitude-related feelings and positive affect. However, similar tendencies were observed in the control group who were asked to simply write down five events that occurred during the week. Key words: Gratitude, positive affect, life satisfaction, subjective happiness, intervention, employees, randomized controlled trial, Japan.

Are positive psychology exercises helpful for people with depressive personality styles?

Two exercises involving gratitude and uplifting music were tested for their ability to improve well-being in self-critical and needy individuals. In this study, 772 adults completed measures of depressive symptoms, physical symptoms, happiness, and self-esteem and then practiced the gratitude, music, or control exercise (recalling early childhood memories) for 1 week. Follow-up measures were administered after the intervention period, and 1, 3, and 6 months later. Participants in both the gratitude and the music condition reported greater increases in happiness over time than participants in the control condition. Self-critics were particularly responsive to the gratitude intervention, whereas needy individuals found the exercises ineffective and even detrimental to their self-esteem. These results highlight the importance of identifying individual differences in response to positive psychology exercises.