This month’s monthly dose dives into the world of gratitude practices and their impact on our physiological and psychological health. This is a growing area in the research world and all signs so far point to gratitude being associated with a host of positive outcomes, not only in the short-term but also in the long-term. We’ll discuss what gratitude is from a research perspective, how it’s typically measured or assessed, some underlying theories as to why gratitude may play an important role in our health and wellbeing, as well as discussing some new research on whether gratitude changes as a function of chronological age. Finally, we’ll end with looking briefly at gratitude from a neuroscience lens - that is, what are the underlying mechanisms by which gratitude practices might lead to the physiological and psychological outcomes discussed. We hope you’ll explore some of the practices to see how different gratitude practices feel to you!

Click the links below to read the research referenced throughout this lecture:

• Effects on Physical Health & Health Behaviors
• Gratitude & Loneliness: Enhancing Health & Well-Being in Older Adults
• Gratitude across the Life Span: Age Differences & Links to Subjective Well-Being
• Positive Psychology & Gratitude Interventions: A Randomized Clinical Trial
• Grateful Students are Motivated, Engaged, & Successful in School: Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal, & Experimental Evidence
• Feeling Gratitude is Associated with Better Well-Being across the Life Span: A Daily Diary Study during the COVID-19 Outbreak
• Influence of Gratitude on Learning Engagement among Adolescents: The Multiple Mediating Effects of Teachers' Emotional Support & Students' Basic Psychological Needs
• Enhanced Academic Motivation in University Students following a 2-Week Online Gratitude Journal Intervention
• Looking on the Bright Side of Life: Gratitude & Experiences of Interpersonal Transgressions in Adulthood & Daily Life