Beneﬁts, Mechanisms, and New Directions for Teaching AQ: … · Beneﬁts, Mechanisms, and New Directions for Teaching Gratitude to Children Kristin Layous and Sonja Lyubomirsky

Benefits, Mechanisms, and New Directions for TeachingGratitude to Children

Kristin Layous and Sonja LyubomirskyUniversity of California, Riverside

Abstract. This commentary considers the theoretical and applied implications ofthe introduction of a benefit-appraisal intervention to promote gratitude amongyouth by Froh et al. First, we discuss the developmental competencies thatchildren need to master before they can benefit from this intervention. The targetcurriculum was successful among 8- to 11-year-olds, but we predict that it wouldbe less effective in children of younger ages. As children’s theory of mind andcapacity to understand emotions and take another’s perspective develop, so toowill their ability to feel and express heartfelt gratitude and, in turn, their capacityto benefit from gratitude inductions. Second, we discuss the broader implicationsof instilling a habit of gratitude in youth. Specifically, because gratitude isassociated with greater well-being and stronger social relationships, we predictthat fostering gratitude in youth could give rise to numerous positive long-termconsequences. Third, additional questions remain about the curriculum itself,including the mechanisms underlying its success and its efficacy relative tosimpler gratitude inductions. Lastly, we discuss the potential downsides of com-pelling children to express gratitude (e.g., whether it could backfire if childrenlack intrinsic motivation). Overall, we praise this work as an important step inincreasing gratitude in children and stimulating thinking about the developmentalprocesses associated with gratitude, as well as its long-term downstream conse-quences.

In Cicero’s words, “gratitude is not onlythe greatest of virtues, but the parent of all theothers.” Toddlers are taught to say “thankyou” as soon as they learn to speak, and thisnorm is further emphasized through culturalinstitutions such as religious practices and na-tional thanksgiving holidays across the globe.Above and beyond societal expectations, how-ever, the experience and expression of grati-tude benefit the individual by enhancing well-being, physical health, and social relationships(e.g., Algoe, Haidt, & Gable, 2008; Emmons& McCullough, 2003; Lambert, Clark, Durts-

chi, Fincham, & Graham, 2010; Lyubomirsky,Dickerhoof, Boehm, & Sheldon, 2011; Wood,Froh, & Geraghty, 2010). Furthermore, grati-tude may serve as a moral affect, helpingpeople to recognize the good deeds of othersand motivating them to reciprocate, therebyreinforcing the performance of the initial gooddeed (McCullough, Kilpatrick, Emmons, &Larson, 2001). Theory and empirical evidencealso suggest that the grateful person not onlyreciprocates kind acts but pays them forwardto third parties (Bartlett & DeSteno, 2006;McCullough, Kimeldorf, & Cohen, 2008).

Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to Kristin Layous, Department of Psychology,University of California, Riverside, CA 92521; e-mail: [email protected]

Copyright 2014 by the National Association of School Psychologists, ISSN 0279-6015

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Thus, along with benefitting the mental andphysical health of the individual who is ex-pressing it, gratitude can contribute to morepositive and prosocial interactions in families,schools, communities, and workplaces.

Given the simplicity of expressing grat-itude, as well as its potential positive conse-quences for the individual and society, thedevelopment and tests of a benefit-appraisalintervention to promote gratitude in childrenby Froh et al. (2014) holds significant theoret-ical and applied implications. Across twostudies, the authors found that their gratitudecurriculum (versus an attention-matched con-trol) boosted appraisals of benefits received(i.e., grateful thinking), felt gratitude, expres-sion of gratitude (via more written thank-younotes), and positive affect in 8- to 11-year-oldchildren. Their curriculum broke gratitudedown into smaller pieces, focusing on helpingstudents understand a benefactor’s intention inhelping, the costs incurred in helping, and thebenefits bestowed on the receiver—all crucialcomponents of a gratitude experience (Mc-Cullough et al., 2001). The two studies repre-sent a critical forward step in understandinghow and at what age gratitude-enhancing strat-egies can be taught to children. In addition, thestudies stimulate interesting questions for fu-ture research about socioemotional develop-ment, the protective nature of gratitude, and thepossible limits of these types of interventions.

When Can Gratitude Develop in Youth?

The benefit-appraisal intervention de-veloped in the target article is notable for itssuccess in teaching about social exchangesand eliciting increases in reported gratitudeand positive affect in children. Past researchhas found that positive interventions might beless successful at younger ages, possibly be-cause youth do not engage with or internalizethe activities as much as older participants(Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). This curriculum,however, shows that breaking up a conceptlike gratitude into digestible pieces might al-low it to resonate with younger age groups.

The authors acknowledge that the abilityto feel and express genuine gratitude may be

contingent on the student’s developmentalreadiness. They did not, however, discuss thecompetencies that children may need to de-velop before they can learn how to expressgratitude more regularly and reap its benefits.This issue is ripe for future theory and re-search. One obvious developmental task in-volves establishing a theory of mind (Flavell,2004; Premack & Woodruff, 1978; Wimmer& Perner, 1983). For example, a child cannotthink through the intention of a benefactorwithout recognizing that the other person hasthoughts distinct from his or her own. A the-ory of mind is usually established between 4and 5 years of age (Wellman, Cross, & Watson,2001), so it may be possible to teach children asyoung as 4 years old about gratitude.

If having a theory of mind is a necessaryprerequisite for gratitude in children, it islikely not sufficient. Children may also needsome understanding of emotions to truly feelgrateful. Indeed, individuals who understandthe emotions and thoughts of others are betterable to engage in moral reasoning and to sym-pathize with and help others (Eisenberg, Fabes,& Spinrad, 2006). The benefit-appraisal grat-itude intervention, too, required that studentsreflect on the emotions and thoughts of theirbenefactors—a task that may have been diffi-cult or impossible for younger children. Al-though preschool children can identify basicemotions associated with facial expressions(e.g., happy, sad), an understanding of morecomplex emotions (e.g., gratitude, jealousy,pride) is not achieved until 7 years of age andincreases through adolescence (Harris, Olthof,Terwogt, & Hardman, 1987).

Consideration of the intentions andemotions of a benefactor also requires thatyouth have a capacity for perspective taking.Indeed, among adults, gratitude is stronglyassociated with the ability to put oneself inanother person’s shoes (i.e., perspective tak-ing) and to feel empathy (McCullough, Em-mons, & Tsang, 2002). Much research hasexplored the relationship between empathy orperspective taking and prosocial behavior inyouth (e.g., Eisenberg & Miller, 1987; Eisen-berg et al., 2002), but no research, to ourknowledge, has investigated their association

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with gratitude. Because prosocial moral devel-opment (including the ability to empathizewith others) continues to develop through highschool (Eisenberg-Berg, 1979), we expect thatthe capacity to feel gratitude could also in-crease with age. At what age gratitude candevelop in youth and whether the capacity forgratitude evolves throughout the lifespan areimportant questions for future research.

Furthermore, although children every-where are repeatedly pressed to say “thankyou,” we suspect that the ability to understandemotions (a key component of emotional in-telligence; Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2004)and the ability to take the benefactor’s per-spective are prerequisites to benefitting fromthe expression of gratitude. As just one pieceof evidence, in a sample of 3- to 9-year-olds,only children aged 7 years or older showed anassociation between gratitude and happiness(Park & Peterson, 2006). In addition, we con-ducted a study in which 9- to 11-year-oldswere prompted to perform acts of kindness(Layous, Nelson, Oberle, Schonert-Reichl, &Lyubomirsky, 2012). Although we observedan overall increase in positive affect, childrenwho were high on perspective taking reapedthe largest increases in well-being, likely be-cause they were able to identify with the impor-tance of the activity (Nelson, Layous, Oberle,Schonert-Reichl, & Lyubomirsky, 2012). Sim-ilarly, we posit that gratitude will only berelated to positive outcomes to the extent thatit is authentic, which may require perspective-taking abilities.

In sum, the benefit-appraisal interven-tion by Froh et al. (2014) provokes a numberof speculations about the potential develop-mental processes surrounding gratitude and itsdownstream consequences. Future researchwould do well to explore these and relatedideas to gain a broader understanding of grat-itude in youth.

Long-Term Benefits of Early GratitudeIntervention

An appealing aspect of the benefit-ap-praisal intervention is that it was successful atinstilling habits of gratitude at young ages,

thereby potentially giving rise to multipledownstream positive consequences in childrenand adolescents. First, gratitude is associatedwith well-being (McCullough et al., 2002;Wood et al., 2010) and even causes increasesin well-being (e.g., Emmons & McCullough,2003; Froh et al., 2014; Froh, Sefick, & Em-mons, 2008; Lyubomirsky et al., 2011), andwell-being in adolescents is negatively relatedto depression (Valois, Zullig, Huebner, &Drane, 2004), substance abuse (Zullig, Valois,Huebner, Oeltmann, & Drane, 2001), and ex-ternalizing behaviors (i.e., delinquent or ag-gressive behaviors; Suldo & Huebner, 2004).In addition, positive activities like expressinggratitude can both directly and indirectly (viaincreases in well-being) mitigate risk factorsfor psychopathology (e.g., rumination, loneli-ness), therefore decreasing the prevalence ofmental disorders across the lifespan (Layous,Chancellor, & Lyubomirsky, 2014). Thus,teaching habits of gratitude to youth couldaffect their mental health and positive behav-iors for years to come.

Second, gratitude predicts prosocial be-havior, positive relationships, and social inte-gration (Algoe et al., 2008; Froh, Bono, &Emmons, 2010; McCullough et al., 2002)—allfactors that contribute to happiness and lifesatisfaction. Thus, grateful thinking can in-crease well-being both directly and indirectly(i.e., through healthy relationships and com-munity involvement). Finally, researchershave previously found that expressing grati-tude can improve school satisfaction (Froh etal., 2008), and school satisfaction is related toboth academic and social success (Verkuyten& Thijs, 2002). Thus, gratitude could havefar-reaching effects in multiple domains ofstudents’ lives, supporting Cicero’s assertionthat gratitude may be the parent of all othervirtues.

Further Questions About Benefit-Appraisal Intervention

The results of the benefit-appraisal in-tervention by Froh et al. (2014) were clear—the experiments increased gratitude and posi-tive affect in children. The exact mechanisms

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of these effects, however, are less clear. Theintervention asked students to focus on threemain concepts: intention of the benefactor,cost to the benefactor, and benefit to the ben-eficiary. In future studies, researchers couldisolate each of these components to explorewhether one is driving the results or whetherthe intervention is most powerful with themcombined, achieving a synergistic effect.

Along similar lines, in past studies, re-searchers have asked students to write lettersof gratitude or count blessings (i.e., directlyexpress gratitude) rather than learn about theprocess of gratitude (Froh, Kashdan, Ozim-kowski, & Miller, 2009; Froh et al., 2008).Future studies might explore whether the grat-itude curriculum is more effective than simplyprompting students to express gratitude. Wesuspect that dividing gratitude into smallercomponents might help youth engage with thetopic to a greater extent than if they are simplyprompted to list what they are grateful for.Moreover, particular ways to express gratitude(e.g., writing a letter to thank one’s parent orteacher) may make people feel guilty or in-debted in some situations or cultures (e.g.,Kim, Sherman, Ko, & Taylor, 2006; Layous,Lee, Choi, & Lyubomirsky, 2013), so explor-ing individual differences in people and situ-ations is also an important area for futureresearch.

In addition, the authors state that socialcognitive appraisals of beneficial social ex-changes (i.e., grateful thinking) mediated therelationship between the intervention and in-creases in felt gratitude and positive affect.However, no mediational analyses were con-ducted to test this hypothesis, and all the out-come variables were collected at the sametime, thus not meeting the temporal-sequencerequirement of mediation. Although the au-thors have sound theoretical reasoning for pro-posing this mediational sequence, alternativeexplanations are plausible. Perhaps the inter-vention boosted positive affect, and this led toincreases in both benefit appraisals and grati-tude. Thus, future research could continue toexplore the mediational pathways by whichthe benefit-appraisal curriculum increaseswell-being.

Lastly, future studies would do well toinclude additional self-reported and objectiveoutcome measures. For example, the authorsmention that gratitude increases satisfactionwith school, which—in turn—could boost stu-dents’ grades. Similarly, given the authors’suggestion of possible effects of gratitude onpeer social relationships, sociometric ratingsof classmates could show whether the grati-tude intervention changes relationships or im-pressions among peers. For example, our lab-oratory found that students who engaged in anacts-of-kindness intervention were subse-quently nominated by more peers as studentswho they “would like to be in school activitieswith,” a measure of peer acceptance (Layouset al., 2012). In sum, investigating the down-stream consequences of increasing gratitude inchildren could help illuminate the broad im-pact of gratitude in youth.

Downsides of Forced Gratitude

Although the gratitude curriculum ap-peared to be highly successful in increasinggratitude, positive affect, and recognition ofsocial exchanges, researchers should also con-sider the potential downsides of forcing chil-dren to engage in gratitude activities. Manypeople have childhood memories of beingpushed by parents to sit down after the holi-days to write those dreaded thank-you notes.This tradition is more akin to a chore than atrue expression of thankfulness. Indeed, muchresearch suggests that doing activities out ofobligation can undermine intrinsic motivation(Ryan & Deci, 2000). Thus, incorporatinggratitude into a school curriculum necessarilysituates it in the same category as other aca-demic tasks some children want to avoid, suchas spelling tests and learning fractions. Ac-cordingly, over time, children might only ex-press gratitude to fulfill this academic obliga-tion and avoid reprimand and not because theyhave internalized the importance of recogniz-ing the benefits bestowed by others.

On the other hand, intrinsic motivationcan still be fostered even within the confinesof externally regulated behavior (e.g., obliga-tory expressions of gratitude) if the activity


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fosters the psychological needs of competence(i.e., feeling skilled at a task), connectedness(i.e., feeling connected to others), and auton-omy (i.e., feeling in control of one’s choices;Ryan & Deci, 2001). The gratitude curriculummight help children feel like gratitude aficio-nados, knowing when and how to express theirgratitude and appreciation. In addition, oncegratitude is expressed and the target of thegratitude responds in a favorable manner, thestudent may feel more connected to that per-son and may feel happier, thus reinforcing theinitial expression of gratitude.

Within the benefit-appraisal curriculum,instructors could focus on the choices sur-rounding when, to whom, and how to expressgratitude, therefore underscoring the benefi-ciary’s autonomy (cf. Nelson et al., 2013). So,even if learning about and expressing gratitudeare initially mandated, students may enjoy theprocess and, over time, become intrinsicallymotivated to feel and express gratitude,whether it is assigned as homework or not.Indeed, many children still enjoy reading andarithmetic even though it is a major part oftheir early compulsory academic experience.Future research could explore the degree towhich the gratitude curriculum fosters psycho-logical-need satisfaction, as well as the degreeto which this psychological-need satisfactionpromotes intrinsic motivation to expressgratitude.

Conclusion

In sum, the benefit-appraisal interven-tion sheds light on how and at what age grat-itude can be taught to children, stimulatesquestions about the developmental processesassociated with gratitude, and ushers new re-search on the potential role of gratitude as aprotective factor among youth. Given the as-sociation of gratitude with myriad positiveoutcomes (e.g., well-being, physical health,positive relationships), research on the devel-opment of gratitude in youth and its long-termoutcomes should be a priority for the future.Nearly every child in the West has beenscolded for not saying “thank you” or pressedinto writing obligatory thank-you notes.

Teaching children how gratitude works—thatis, the process by which one recognizes thatbenefactors choose to help, add value, andsuffer costs—might help them to internalizethe importance of gratitude, setting them upwith a habit and attitude that will deliver he-donic and tangible returns for years to come.

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Date Received: November 22, 2013Date Accepted: January 21, 2014Associate Editor: Shannon Suldo

Kristin Layous, BA (University of California, Santa Barbara), MA (The Ohio StateUniversity), is a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Riverside. Her researchinterests include understanding how to sustainably increase happiness through the practiceof simple positive activities, as well as the differential outcomes of discrete positiveemotions.

Sonja Lyubomirsky, AB (Harvard University), PhD (Stanford University), is Professor ofPsychology at the University of California, Riverside, and author of The How of Happi-ness and The Myths of Happiness. She investigates why some people are happier thanothers, the benefits of happiness, and how to sustainably increase happiness.


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Beneﬁts, Mechanisms, and New Directions for Teaching AQ: … · Beneﬁts, Mechanisms, and New Directions for Teaching Gratitude to Children Kristin Layous and Sonja Lyubomirsky