Gratitude

Gratitude, a Positive Emotion

Gratitude, a positive emotion linked to the recognition and appreciation of positive experiences in an individual’s life, can be accompanied by micro-facial changes that reflect feelings of appreciation and thankfulness. In the field of affective neuroscience, observing facial expressions provides an important indicator of the experience of gratitude.

Facial micro-expressions associated with gratitude often involve areas of the face such as the eyes, mouth, and cheeks. The eyes may display brightness and admiration, with openness and sparkle indicating a sense of appreciation. The mouth may lift slightly at the corners, forming a gentle, sincere smile, while the cheeks may subtly flush, expressing a feeling of inner warmth.

Understanding the facial micro-expressions linked to gratitude provides valuable insights into the nature of the emotional experience and the involvement of neural processes in expressing gratitude. Studies in this area continue to explore the correlations between these expressions and neural activation associated with gratitude, thereby contributing to our understanding of human emotional responses and their implications for mental healthWhat is meant by mental health? According to the World Healt... More and individual well-being.

Neuroscientific Aspects of Gratitude

Gratitude is a positive emotion manifested through the recognition and appreciation of positive experiences, received favors, or meaningful relationships in an individual’s life. From a neuroscientific perspective, gratitude is studied by analyzing the brain circuits and neural processes involved in its generation and maintenance.

Activation of brain regions involved in gratitude, such as the insula and the medial prefrontal cortexThe prefrontal cortex plays a fundamental role in numerous p... More, is associated with the perception of received benefits and the generation of feelings of appreciation. These regions work in synergy with the brain’s reward systemWith reward system, also called the gratification system, we... More, which includes the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens, to promote sensations of satisfaction and well-being.

Neurotransmitters like dopamineA neurotransmitter found in the brain and central nervous sy... More and serotoninSerotonin, also known as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), is a ne... More play a crucial role in modulating gratitude. Higher levels of these neurotransmitters are correlated with a greater experience of gratitude and happinessHappiness represents an emotional state characterized by pos... More, while neurochemical disturbances that affect their regulation can impair the ability to feel gratitude.

Practicing gratitude can also influence brain plasticityIn the neuroscientific field, brain plasticity refers to the... More, facilitating the formation of new neural connections and enhancing the functioning of brain regions involved in emotional experiences. This suggests that gratitude is not only a temporary emotional response but can also have lasting effects on mental health and psychological well-being.

Research on the neural bases of gratitude contributes not only to understanding the nature of the emotion itself but can also inform therapeutic strategies and interventions that promote gratitude practice to improve mental health and individual well-being.

Definitions of Gratitude

The term “gratitude” derives from the Latin word gratus, meaning “pleasing” or “thankful,” and indicates a feeling of appreciation. We can distinguish gratitude in itself, connected to simply being alive, and gratitude understood as a feeling of joy, satisfaction, or thankfulness in response to kindness shown by others. The two types of gratitude are clearly compatible and can interact with each other.

The absence of gratitude when it is socially expected is called ingratitude.

Many religions around the world consider gratitude a central principle. Philosophers, from ancient times to the present, have shown interest in this theme.

In psychology, therapeutic benefits of expressing appreciation have been highlighted, and psychologists have studied both the momentary feeling of appreciation (state gratitude) and the longer-lasting experience of gratitude (trait gratitude), as well as their reciprocal relationship.

Effects of Gratitude on Well-Being

Studies show that the positive effects of gratitude on mood and other aspects of well-being include increased happiness in those who practice it. The lives and relationships of grateful individuals are more satisfying: they experience fewer negative emotions such as depressionDepression is a disorder characterized by persistent sadness... More, tension, and dissatisfaction. Gratitude can act as a protective factor against depression, improving the encoding and recall of happy events. Grateful people are more likely to feel in control of their lives, make progress toward their goals, accept themselves as they are, and develop healthy responses to challenges. They are more inclined to seek help, learn from experiences, develop personally, and anticipate and prepare for potential solutions. Grateful people are less likely to resort to avoidance, denial, self-blame, or substance abuse as copingCoping is the ability to face and manage stress, challenges,... More mechanisms.

Two studies by Wood and colleagues, published in 2008 and 2009, found that gratitude can have a specific link to happiness and explain aspects of happiness not explained by other personality traits. In both cases, gratitude was found to be a stronger predictor of happiness than the so-called Big Five personality traits (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Openness) and 30 other personality qualities.

Gratitude and Healthy Habits

A study by Fritz and colleagues published in 2019 found that adolescents who expressed gratitude to others through handwritten letters demonstrated healthier eating habits over the following month. It was hypothesized that grateful individuals focus more on the positive aspects of things and the opportunities ahead. People are more likely to make decisions that benefit them in the long term, such as choosing healthier foods.

Grateful individuals also tend to be healthier in other ways, including increased physical activity, better sleep, fewer medical visits, and improved diet. It has also been shown that expressing gratitude can improve heart health.

Gratitude and Education in Self-Awareness

Gratitude can be a crucial factor in developing self-awarenessIl termine autoconsapevolezza si riferisce primariamente all... More, both as a cause and as an effect. The experience of gratitude itself, regardless of circumstances, represents an expression of high self-awareness. As Patrizio Paoletti writes:

Gratitude arises in us when we realize that this moment is not to be taken for granted. It is not to be taken for granted because it is not owed to us. Gratitude becomes the liberating factor in our lives, calming and regenerating, when we realize that we owe nothing because nothing is due to us, but that we can achieve everything because the chance this moment represents opens us to new opportunities, connecting the knowledge of this instant with itself, thus becoming interactive rather than reactive with the world now created around us.

Ararat – Forgiveness, Gratitude, CompassionCompassion is a positive emotion that arises when we not onl... More, p. 31

Focus: Gratitude as a Protective Factor in Developmental Age

Promoting, by educating all actors involved in building a resilient community—educators, youth, families, professionals, volunteers, etc.—genuine well-being means taking care of all aspects that constitute quality of life: physical, social-relational, and psychological (Sansone & Sansone, 2010; Baumsteiger et al., 2019; Anand et al., 2021).

Specifically, in the context of implementing neuro-psychopedagogical interventions for health and resilienceWhat is meant by resilience? According to the American Psych... More education, the most studied psychological variables that influence all three domains are: resilience, self-efficacyWhen facing the daily challenges we must confront, sometimes... More in managing positive and negative emotions, self-compassion (specifically, sense of common humanity, self-kindness, and low levels of self-judgment and over-identification), adaptive coping strategies (positive attitude and seeking social support), self-determination, and prosociality (Paoletti et al., 2022; Paoletti et al., 2023; Perasso et al., 2023a; 2023b).

Increasingly studied in the literature is a specific protective factor that appears to mediate and moderate these variables, proposed as a characteristic underlying optimal self-development: gratitude (Card, 2019; Boggiss et al., 2020; García-Vázquez et al., 2020). Is there a definition of gratitude?

We can define gratitude as one of the positive individual resources that can mitigate the effects of daily stressors (Duprey et al., 2020) and increase our well-being (Wood et al., 2010; Sari & Santi, 2023). This protective factor—which can be taught, respecting normal brain developmental processes in youth (especially during the critical phases of prefrontal cortex development and consolidation of formal operational thinking) (Reckart et al., 2017; Tudge & Freitas, 2018)—includes but goes beyond concepts such as forgiveness, the ability to empathically understand others, social cognitive skills, generosity, and absence of materialism (Bosacki et al., 2018; Chaplin et al., 2019).

Gratitude is a two-stage dynamic process:

1. First, a person capable of genuine gratitude can recognize that a positive outcome has been achieved and use this achievement to foster continuous inner growth and a solid future plan;
2. Second, a person capable of genuine gratitude can acknowledge and define that there is an external cause for this positive outcome and give proper credit to both the source of help and to themselves (for accepting the help offered) (Sansone & Sansone, 2010; Tudge et al., 2016; Rey et al., 2019).

Scientific studies in developmental age, especially preadolescence and adolescenceWhat is meant by adolescence? Adolescence is understood as t... More, have shown that more grateful adolescents are more satisfied with their lives, have better coping abilities for stressful events, report better interpersonal relationships (Froh et al., 2009; 2010; 2011; Sun et al., 2019; Scott et al., 2021), and develop more prosocial behaviors (Zhang, 2022).

Additionally, some scholars suggest that gratitude positively influences mental health and psychological adaptation, reducing reactive behaviors and promoting proactive behaviors. Further studies have shown that gratitude is associated with milder depressive symptoms and a reduction in suicidal ideation and attempts (Zhou & Wu, 2016; Sun et al., 2019; Boggiss et al., 2020; Sari & Santi, 2023). In promoting mental health during developmental age—especially in school and peer contexts—other studies suggest that gratitude may serve as a relevant protective factor for preventing suicide risk among victims of bullyingAlthough there is no universally agreed-upon definition of b... More and cyberbullyingCyberbullying is the enactment via the internet of behaviors... More, especially girls, and for promoting prosocial and proactive behaviors (Tian et al., 2016; Rey et al., 2019; García-Vázquez et al., 2020).

Gratitude, as a protective factor that should be implemented in preadolescence and adolescence and trained and reinforced in adulthood, can contribute to the ability to recognize, accept, and manage positive emotions, thereby expanding the personal repertoire of thoughts-actions in the here and now that counteract negative emotions after a challenging experience and the enduring personal resources people use to regulate their emotional experiences (Froh et al., 2010; Scott et al., 2021).

Ultimately, educational efforts to promote gratitude can positively impact mood and strengthen mental health (You et al., 2018; 2019). Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of targeted preventive interventions (Anand et al., 2021). According to both recent scientific research and the voices of young people themselves, family, school, friends, and especially fostering and maintaining positive and trusting relationships characterized by gratitude (Rey et al., 2019) at home, school, and in the environments they inhabit (real and virtual) serve as reliable reference points in challenging and stressful situations.