Gratitude is so important that America even has a holiday devoted to it! Below are a few key facts on the topic...
Gratitude is derived from the Latin root gratia meaning grace, graciousness, or gratefulness. According to Pruyser (1976) all derivatives from the Latin root “have to do with kindness, generousness, gifts, the beauty of giving and receiving, or getting something for nothing.” (p. 69) Emmons and Shelton (2002) define gratitude as a psychological state that offers a “. . . felt sense of wonder, thankfulness, and appreciation for life.” (p. 460) The roots of gratitude lay in mostly religious traditions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam and yet maintains to be an illusive topic within the positive psychological literature. (Lazarus & Lazarus, 1994) Very little empirical research has been done on gratitude. (Emmons & Shelton, 2002)The benefits of gratitude move beyond just the satisfying intrinsic feeling into other subjective experiences. Chesterton (1924) asserted that “gratitude produced the most purely joyful moments that have been known to man.” (p. 114) According to the few empirical papers on gratitude, it is a pleasant state and is linked with positive emotions, including contentment (Walker & Pitts, 1998), happiness, pride, and hope (Overwalle, Mervielde, & De Schuyter, 1995). Emmons and Shelton (2002) reference a survey conducted by Gallup (1998) where over 90% of American teens and adults expressed gratitude helped them to feel extremely happy or somewhat happy. Emmons and Crumpler (2000) have reported that a conscious focus on gratitude makes life more fulfilling, meaningful, and productive.
