What is gratitude for? The main advantages of this feeling

These are the psychological benefits of experiencing and expressing gratitude in our relationships.

We all know the feeling of gratitude and have experienced it countless times throughout our lives.

However, there are aspects of it that we may not yet have thought about. Even its very definition is somewhat complex. Therefore, we will dedicate these paragraphs to clarify everything related to gratitude and to know its advantages..

What is gratitude?

Before we can go into the question of what gratitude is for, it is important to go deeper into this concept, because as we have already mentioned, on many occasions we have not even noticed the meaning of this concept. We could say that gratitude is a feeling of appreciation and valuation towards another person for having brought us a certain benefit..

This benefit can be of a very diverse nature, ranging from a favor performed, an act of generosity, a gift, etc. It may even be that the benefit has not yet been received, but the promise or intention to do so in the future has been established, which already awakens the feeling of gratitude.

Answering the question of what gratitude is for was not simple until some time ago, because historically, in psychology, there has been a tendency to study more deeply emotions that can be the opposite of gratitude, such as anguish. It was already in the 21st century when research on positive emotions intensified, generating in the authors the same interest as the negative ones.

As with other personality factors, researchers make a distinction between gratitude as a state and gratitude as a trait.. When we speak of the state of gratitude, we refer to that feeling provoked at a given moment in response to an action of kindness towards the person.

As for the trait of gratitude, it would be a tendency in the personality of the subject in question to experience such a feeling, or to do so with more intensity than others.

A question to bear in mind, before going into the question of what gratitude is for, is that we should not confuse this concept with that of feeling indebted. Although both can appear at the same time, and in fact they do, after obtaining a certain benefit, as we have already mentioned, their implications are different.

We have already described the case of gratitude. With respect to the feeling of debt, it implies a need to reciprocate the perceived benefit with a similar benefit. towards the person who has provided it, establishing a reciprocity between actions.

What is gratitude for? Its benefits

Now that we know in more detail what this concept means, we can face the question at hand: what is gratitude for? Let us now review the different answers that can be given to this question.

1. Well-being

The simplest answer to what gratitude is for is simply that it makes us feel better. It has been proven that this type of emotions triggers a series of reactions in our organism that translate into an increase in our happiness at a mental level, but also in an increase of well-being at a physical level..

In that sense, Patrick Hill's 2012 study found that subjects with a greater tendency to show gratitude also reported better physical health in their reports. A causal relationship cannot be established, but a correlation can be established, so that a person who is grateful may be more likely to have better mental and physical health than one who is not.

It may be that one of the factors involved in this relationship is that of rest. It has been found that thinking about positive emotions (and gratitude is one of them) before the onset of sleep helps to make sleep deeper and more restful. Therefore, someone who tends to be grateful will have more positive thoughts to reflect on.

This first answer to the question of what gratitude is for is already providing us with very valuable information. Grateful people also tend to show other characteristics that make them happier. They can feel more self-confident, have satisfactory social relationships and have coping strategies for difficulties.

These conditions make them less prone to psychological pathologies such as anxiety or depression.. In short, all these conditions establish a correlative relationship between being grateful on a regular basis and well-being at all levels, or happiness.

2. Motivation

As if happiness were not enough, there are other elements that can also be an answer to what gratitude is for. One of them is that of motivation. And the fact is that the emotion of gratitude can become an excellent engine to promote certain behaviors..

A study conducted by Carey in 1976 tested the effect of gratitude on the motivation of consumers, in this case of a jewelry store. Three groups of customers were created. The first group was not contacted again after the purchase was made. The second group was contacted, but only for information purposes regarding the transaction.

As for the third group, the call was used both to inform them of the purchase and to thank them for it. After some time, the recurrence of all these customers was studied. In the first group, there was no significant rate, i.e. the customers did not buy again in that store. In the second group, they returned to the store 30% of the time.

But the third group is the one that answers the question of what gratitude is for. On average, these consumers returned to the store to buy new products 70% of the time. We are therefore seeing spectacular growth, all based on a single factor: gratitude.

This is not the only investigation in this regard. Also It has also been found that more tips are received when waiters write something as simple as the word "thank you" on the bill before handing it to customers. before handing it to customers.

3. Altruism

We have seen two compelling reasons why gratitude is useful. But we can still find another one, and it is nothing less than altruism. Altruism could be defined as any behavior that a person engages in to help another person without any kind of reward for it..

Ultimately, and taking the situation to the extreme, altruism involves reducing one's own chances of survival in favor of those of another individual. This type of behavior is common when there is a kinship relationship, especially from parent to child. However, it can also be observed between subjects who do not share genetic or even emotional ties.

What has been ascertained through different research is that people who feel more grateful tend to try to help more people in a selfless way.. In other words, those people who experience gratitude on a regular basis, either by repetition of the state of gratitude or by having a trait of gratitude, will be more likely to engage in altruistic behavior.

This correlation has important implications, since what we are observing is that a person who has experienced gratitude and, therefore, has obtained important benefits such as feeling better physically and mentally, improving their well-being and even experiencing feelings of happiness, will also try to help other people in need.

That is to say, in some way, it will export that feeling of well-being to other individuals, through actions that in turn will generate gratitude in them and therefore will promote happiness. To put it simply, we could say, regarding what gratitude is for, that not only has a series of benefits for the one who experiences it, but also these can become "contagious" to others..

This chain of gratitude and altruistic actions is undoubtedly good news for all members of society where these behaviors take place, as it would be promoting such important and positive attitudes as generosity and social reciprocity.

Although there are other answers, the ones we have been able to review mean that we now know the answer to what gratitude is for and we know the tremendous relevance of this feeling in our lives.

Bibliographical references:

• Bartlett, M.Y., DeSteno, D. (2006). Gratitude and prosocial behavior: Helping when it costs you. Psychological Science.
• Carey, J.R., Clicque, S.H., Leighton, B.A., Milton, F. (1976). A test of positive reinforcement of customers. Journal of Marketing.
• Hill, P.L., Allemand, M., Roberts, B.W. (2013). Examining the pathways between gratitude and self-rated physical health across adulthood. Personality and individual differences. Elsevier.
• Otake, K., Shimai, S., Tanaka-Matsumi, J., Otsui & Barbara, K., Fredrickson, L. (2006). Happy people become happier through kindness: A counting kindnesses intervention. Journal of happiness Studies. Springer.
• Rowland, L., Curry, O.S. (2019). A range of kindness activities boost happiness. The Journal of social psychology. Taylor & Francis.