Gratitude and indebtedness: Associations with personality traits and life satisfaction in South Korea

Abstract

Gratitude and indebtedness are predominant emotional and cognitive responses that occur after receiving benefits from others. There is ambiguity as to whether these two emotions are distinct in interdependence‐oriented cultures. To investigate whether gratitude and indebtedness are distinct emotions in South Korea, we examined the relationship between gratitude and indebtedness and the associations between these emotions and personality traits. Further, we examined the relationships of gratitude and indebtedness with life satisfaction. The sample of 294 college students aged 18 to 27 years participated in the study. Data were collected using self‐report questionnaires. Results showed that there was no systematic relation between gratitude and indebtedness. The two emotions demonstrated contrasting associations with the Big Five personality traits. That is, gratitude was positively linked to agreeableness, extraversion, and openness, but negatively linked to conscientiousness and neuroticism. Conversely, indebtedness was positively linked to conscientiousness and neuroticism. Furthermore, gratitude and indebtedness demonstrated different associations with life satisfaction. Gratitude, but not indebtedness, explained life satisfaction after controlling for personality traits. These findings suggest that gratitude and indebtedness are distinct emotions in South Korea. We discussed gratitude and indebtedness as distinct emotions in an interdependence‐oriented Korean context with previous findings of different cultural contexts.

The association between social support provision, psychological capital, subjective well-being and sense of indebtedness among undergraduates with low socioeconomic status

“…A sense of indebtedness is the obligation to repay another, which is often a relatively stable and lasting emotional state after receiving support from others and society [ 42 , 43 ]. Different individuals differ significantly in their sense of indebtedness after receiving [ 44 , 45 ]. The greater the state of indebtedness, the greater the pressure to compel individuals to provide feedback to others [ 46 ] to seek a balance in social interaction and achieve the goal of mutual benefit, equality, and fairness [ 47 ].…”

The reliability and validity test of the Revised Indebtedness Scale for Chinese university students

“…Some studies have indicated that a higher inclination towards feeling indebted is associated with lower levels of life satisfaction [19,20]. However, further research has demonstrated that after accounting for the Big Five personality traits, the negative correlation between indebtedness and life satisfaction becomes statistically insigni cant [21]. These ndings suggest that while indebtedness may have certain negative psychological consequences, its impact is not universally absolute.…”