A multi-national mega-study of the effects of gratitude practices on subjective well-being

Scholars have observed people from a variety of cultures using a variety of gratitude-related practices to change their emotions, outlooks, and social relationships. Across 34 countries purposefully sampled to cover a broad set of cross-cultural differences (total N = 10,772), we experimentally tested the effects of 6 popular gratitude practices on subjective moods, life outlooks, and social evaluations. Consistent with multiple theoretical accounts, gratitude practices produced immediate (but small) improvements in positive affect (d = 0.36), negative affect (d = -0.22), optimism (d = 0.24), life satisfaction (d = 0.11), indebtedness (d = 0.15), and envy (d = -0.16). Notably, these effects varied across different gratitude practices (0.00 < τpractice < 0.08) and countries (0.10 < τcountry < 0.19). For instance, based on existing evidence, stakeholders can expect gratitude interventions deployed in a randomly-selected country to improve positive affect – but not our other measured outcomes. To guide future inquiry into why this might be the case, we provide exploratory Bayesian estimates of the importance of 12 types of cross-cultural differences.