Mega-study analyzes the impact of gratitude interventions
Are some interventions designed to induce gratitude more effectively than others? In which countries and cultures do they work best to improve mood, strengthen bonds between people and promote social reciprocity? A study aimed at answering these questions—conducted in 34 countries with more than 10,000 participants—had its results published in PNAS. In Brazil, the project received the help of…
A comprehensive study, carried out across 34 countries and involving over 10,000 participants, examined the efficacy of various gratitude interventions in enhancing psychological well-being. Dr. Paulo Sérgio Boggio, a Brazilian psychologist and professor at Mackenzie Presbyterian University, led the research, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The team discovered that all six tested interventions were effective, but one stood out: participants who wrote and sent a message expressing gratitude to someone they felt thankful for experienced the most significant improvement. Conversely, the least impactful intervention was the one where individuals merely listed five things for which they were grateful without sending any message.
Interestingly, the interventions' success varied significantly across different countries, cultures, and levels of social connection. While practices proved beneficial in Mexico, they had almost no effect in Norway. Brazil ranked in the middle of the spectrum, according to the study.
The researchers found that interventions eliciting gratitude led to immediate and measurable improvements in positive affect, feelings of social reciprocity, reductions in negative emotions, and increased life satisfaction and optimism. These effects were nearly universal, with an almost universal increase in positive emotions.
The study's findings contribute to the understanding of gratitude from an evolutionary perspective, as Dr. Boggio explained. Feeling grateful not only increases the likelihood of helping others but also fosters a positive feedback loop of reciprocal actions, even when there's no direct expectation of gain.
One of the key findings was that social connection played a crucial role in the effectiveness of gratitude interventions. Dr. Boggio emphasized that gratitude is an emotion deeply intertwined with social bonds, and its benefits stem from the reciprocal nature of the feeling, leading to a "spiral of helping" among individuals.
The researchers are now investigating whether variations in the responses to gratitude interventions across countries are due to local social norms or if there's a need to develop culturally specific interventions to maximize their impact in different regions, such as Norway and Japan, where the effects were less pronounced.
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