Death and gratitude: Death reflection enhances gratitude

Abstract

Although gratitude is important to the good life, little is known about factors that enhance gratitude. Some have suggested that traumatic events such as near-death experiences and life-threatening illnesses might enhance gratitude. If reflecting on death causes one to appreciate life as a limited resource, this might enhance gratitude. This study investigated this theory. Participants were randomly assigned to a death reflection condition, a traditional mortality salience condition, or to a control condition. Participants in the death reflection and the mortality salience conditions showed enhanced gratitude compared to individuals in the control condition, supporting the theory that becoming aware of one's mortal limitations enhances gratitude for the life that what one has.

Una aproximación al Trabajo Social desde la óptica de la Psicología positiva (virtudes y fortalezas)

“…Incluso cómo el reflexionar sobre la muerte aumenta la gratitud (Frias, Watkins, Webber y Froh, 2011).…”

Components of Appreciative Functioning: A Thematic Analysis of Relevant Literature and Content Analysis of Existing Measurement Scales

“…Lambert et al (2009) showed that experimentally induced appreciative functioning can lead to a response of higher life satisfaction, in contrast with experimentally induced envy. In a cross-sectional design, Froh et al (2011) found that appreciative functioning was negatively correlated with envy. Hence, it may be that appreciative functioning both promotes contentment and counteracts opposing emotions such as envy.…”

“…Positive counter-factual thinking involves constructing alternative situations against which a person's real situation can be appraised as more valuable, thus prompting gratefulness. For example, Frias et al (2011) found that contemplation of death, a negative alternative, enhanced gratefulness for life. Counter-factual thinking may allow people to creatively generate benefit appraisals.…”

“…Adler and Fagley (2005) identified the importance of not taking benefits for granted in appreciative functioning. Indeed, Frias et al (2011) showed that reflection on death can enhance appreciative functioning, which may in part be because it provides a reminder of the temporary nature of life and the good things in it. The belief that good things are not permanent may motivate more frequent appraisals of their benefits, and hence gratefulness.…”

Self-Related Consequences of Death Fear and Death Denial

“…There is emerging experimental evidence that specific and individuated mortality awareness manipulations, which are thought to facilitate open and authentic considerations of death (i.e., death reflection), can generate increased desires for intrinsic striving and more prosocial behavior, compared to unspecific and abstract mortality salience manipulations (Cozzolino, Staples, Samboceti, & Meyers, 2004;Blackie & Cozzolino, 2011;Frias, Watkins, Webber, & Froh, 2011;Cozzolino, Blackie, Rentzelas, Geeraert, & Meyers, 2012). Despite this experimental evidence, however, we are unaware of research that has explicitly explored positive components of the self (e.g., esteem, self-concept clarity, existential well-being) as a function of the interaction between self-reported levels of death fear and death denial.…”