Another way of practicing gratitude is through the use of a gratitude journal. In this study, the researchers assigned volunteers to one of three groups. The first wrote down friendships/relationships they were grateful for three times a week for three weeks. The second did the same and also expressed their gratitude to one person a week either face-to-face, by e-mail, social media or a note. The third just wrote down general reflections with the same frequency. At the end of the intervention period, both gratitude groups had higher positive than negative affect (affect balance) compared to the general reflection group, and the group that expressed gratitude had higher affect balance than the group that only kept a journal. The authors concluded that expressing gratitude to others can add to the positive effects of keeping a gratitude journal.
O’Connell BH, O’Shea D, Gallagher S. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2017;73:1280-1300.
Filed Under: News and Notes