Gratitude and Compassion reading Flashcards
What is the definition of gratitude given at the outset of this section, including how the gift need be seen as positive, intentional, and beneficial?
Gratitude: is a positive emotion one feels with the receipt of a gift (from a person or a higher power); the gift can be tangible or intangible but must be perceived as positive, intentional and beneficial in order to elicit feelings of gratitude
You can focus on the points numbered (1) and (2) at the end of this section.
Gratitude can serve motivate people to reciprocate helping (which would create a cycle of give and take) and can also serve to inspire gratitude in the general population (i.e. paying it forward)
In the research on the sorority described in the first paragraph, what does the gratitude that little sisters felt predict for their own feelings? What do stronger expressions of gratitude by the little sisters predict for the big sisters?
Gratitude felt during the first week of anonymous gift receiving predicted feelings of relationship quality then and also 1 month later; in addition, the gratitude that the litte sisters felt predicted how the big sisters viewed the relationship
What is the impact of expressing gratitude on expressers’ perceptions of relationship durability and quality?
- Higher levels of gratitude expression significantly predicted higher levels of perceived relationship durability with friendships and romantic relationships, immediately and 6 weeks later
The act of expressing gratitude to a friend twice a week for 3 weeks significantly elevated expresser’s assessment of relationship quality at the end of the three weeks
In the second paragraph: Individuals who reported feeling more appreciated by their partners also reported what?
- Individuals feeling more appreciated by their partners also reported feeling more appreciation for their partners
Gratitude expressed by partner predicted feelings of relationship commitment the next day and expressed gratitude predicted relationship stability, with those who did receive gratitude expressions more likely to stay in the relationship 9 months later compared to those that didn’t
What is the relation between feelings of appreciation for one’s partner and responsiveness to the partner?
Increased feelings of appreciation for one’s partner predicted increase in responsiveness to their partners (note. Perceived responsiveness is the behaviour associated with acting in ways that show understanding, acceptance, and consideration of the other person’s needs and thus evoke feelings of gratitude
The authors go back to the sorority study here. What does felt gratitude predict in terms of feelings of integration?
Gratitude felt towards a particular sorority sister during 1 week predicted how integrated individuals felt within the sorority house at a later point
What do grateful individuals do when their previous benefactors are being excluded?
Grateful individuals strove to include their previous benefactors in social situations in which they were being excluded
What are the health and well-being correlates of gratitude outlined here?
- Tendency to experience gratitude positively covaried with overall life satisfaction, psychological well-being, and a sense that life is manageable and coherent
Experiences of gratitude are linked with lower depressive symptoms, lower aggression, better sleep and better physical health
Is gratitude also shown to be beneficial in experimental research, as opposed to correlational research?
Experiments have shown that gratitude can be cultivated and produce benefits over time, so it’s not just correlational
How do feelings of gratitude relate to materialism, and what is the role of life satisfaction here?
Gratitude is related to decreased materialism (gratitude decreases materialism through life satisfaction; gratitude = higher life satisfaction = reduced materialsim)
What is the definition of compassion proposed here (i.e., the one by Goetz and colleagues, 2010)? In contrast, how is empathy defined in a general way?
Compassion is an emotion that stands at the foundation of morality and virtue; empathy refers to the process that allows one to understand another one’s mental state either through perspective taking or experience sharing
- Compassion is an other-oriented emotional state that arises in response to another's suffering and motivates one to act in prosocial ways to alleviate that suffering Compassion is different from empathy based on motivations that underlie one's resonance with another mental state (empathy refers to processes that provide access to the content or experience of another's state)
What are the findings for the Crocker study described in the bottom right corner of p. 839 (original numbering)?
The Crocker study showed that compassionate individuals are more likely to help other people reach their needs than people who are motivated by self-interest
What does the study in the last paragraph of this section (the one by Condon & DeSteno, 2011) say about compassion and punishing wrongdoers?
Compassion can promote a reduction in punishment directed at individuals who commit a transgression, even in cases where the transgression occurs against a third party and no forgiveness is sought
The authors return to the Crocker research done with college freshmen. How does caring for the well-being of others relate to one’s own well-being?
- Compassion may serve as a nourishing, replenishing experience that can contribute to one’s personal well-being
Social support given to others uniquely predicted participant’s own changes in distress from the beginning to the end of the semester; caring for the well-being of others over time appears to benefit an individual’s own psychological well-being
What does the study on the job interview show?
Individuals who thought of ways to help others during a job interview setting experienced less HPA axis reactivity (which is primarily responsible for the negative impacts of stress on health).
What does the study at the bottom of the left hand column of P 841 (original numbering) and top of the right hand column tell us about the effects of giving support?
- Giving support and providing care for others can contribute to one’s own health and psychological well-being
Reduced mortality and depressive symptoms
What does the Dunn et al. (2008) study in the last paragraph show?
Participants that were given cash and assigned to spend it on other people reported greater levels of happiness compared to those that were instructed to spend similar amounts on themselves
What are the effects of meditation on prosocial and compassionate behaviour?
- Loving kindness meditation increases positive emotions which accounted for a variety of resources, including self-reported positive relations with others and self-reported social connection
Additionally, compassionate or mindfulness based meditation significantly enhances the likelihood that individuals will act to relieve the pain of others, even in bystander situations
What is the impact of feelings of similarity or of feelings of security for compassion and help giving?
Increases in feelings of similarity and security enhance compassion and helping behaviour (increases compassion and downstream helping behaviour)
Is it necessary to be consciously aware of greater feelings of security for their benefits to accrue? You should be familiar with the Mikulincer et al. (2005) study described in the middle of the right hand column of p. 842 (original numbering).
- Subliminal cues of security are enough to prime someone to help
Subtle manipulations of felt security (subliminal presentation of someone who provided security to the participant, such as the name of their mother) increased compassionate responding to the other’s suffering more compared to those who experienced neutral subliminal priming
