More than Merely Positive: The Immediate Affective and Motivational Consequences of Gratitude
Abstract
Although gratitude is typically conceptualized as a positive emotion, it may also induce
socially oriented negative feelings, such as indebtedness and guilt. Given its mixed emotional
experience, we argue that gratitude motivates people to improve themselves in important life
domains. Two single-timepoint studies tested the immediate emotional and motivational effects
of expressing gratitude. We recruited employees (n = 224) from French companies in Study 1 and
students (n = 1026) from U.S. high schools in Study 2. Participants in both studies were randomly
assigned to either write gratitude letters to benefactors or outline their weekly activities (control
condition). Expressing gratitude led to mixed emotional experiences (e.g., greater elevation and
indebtedness) for employees and students as compared with the control group. Students also felt
more motivated and capable of improving themselves, as well as conveyed stronger intentions to
muster effort towards self-improvement endeavors.
The Power of Listening in Helping People Change
Guy Itzchakov, Avraham N. (Avi) Kluger
Listening
Giving performance feedback is one of the most common ways managers help their subordinates learn and improve. Yet, research revealed that feedback could actually hurt performance: More than 20 years ago, one of us (Kluger) analyzed 607 experiments on feedback effectiveness and found that feedback caused performance to decline in 38% of cases. This happened with both positive and negative feedback, mostly when the feedback threatened how people saw themselves.
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Listening to Understand: The Role of High-Quality Listening on Speakers’ Attitude Depolarization During Disagreements
Guy Itzchakov , Netta Weinstein , Mark Leary , Dvori Saluk, and Moty Amar
Listening
Disagreements can polarize attitudes when they evoke defensiveness from the conversation partners. When
a speaker talks, listeners often think about ways to counterargue. This process often fails to depolarize
attitudes and might even backfire (i.e., the Boomerang effect). However, what happens in disagreements if
one conversation partner genuinely listens to the other’s perspective? We hypothesized that when
conversation partners convey high-quality listening—characterized by attention, understanding, and
positive intentions—speakers will feel more socially comfortable and connected to them (i.e., positivity
resonance) and reflect on their attitudes in a less defensive manner (i.e., have self-insight). We further
hypothesized that this process reduces perceived polarization (perceived attitude change, perceived attitude
similarity with the listener) and actual polarization (reduced attitude extremity). Four experiments
manipulated poor, moderate, and high-quality listening using a video vignette (Study 1) and live interactions
(Studies 2–4). The results consistently supported the research hypotheses and a serial mediation model in
which listening influences depolarization through positivity resonance and nondefensive self-reflection.
Most of the effects of the listening manipulation on perceived and actual depolarization generalized across
indicators of attitude strength, specifically attitude certainty and attitude morality. These findings suggest
that high-quality listening can be a valuable tool for bridging attitudinal and ideological divides.
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