GRATITUDE AND HAPPINESS: DEVELOPMENT OF A MEASURE OF GRATITUDE, AND RELATIONSHIPS WITH SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

TLDR

The studies aimed to create a valid trait gratitude measure and examine its link to subjective well‑being. Four studies assessed the reliability and validity of the Gratitude Resentment and Appreciation Test (GRAT) as a dispositional gratitude measure. The GRAT demonstrated good internal consistency, temporal stability, and positive associations with subjective well‑being, and experimental evidence showed that grateful thinking improved mood, supporting the measure’s predictive validity and the theory that gratitude is an affective trait important to well‑being.

Abstract

The purpose of these studies was to develop a valid measure of trait gratitude, and to evaluate the relationship of gratitude to subjective well-being (SWB). Four studies were conducted evaluating the reliability and validity of the Gratitude Resentment and Appreciation Test (GRAT), a measure of dispositional gratitude. This measure was shown to have good internal consistency and temporal stability. The GRAT was shown to relate positively to various measures of SWB. In two experiments, it was shown that grateful thinking improved mood, and results also supported the predictive validity of the GRAT. These studies support the theory that gratitude is an affective trait important to SWB.