Is gratitude a moral affect?
Gratitude is conceptualized as a moral affect that is analogous to other moral emotions such as empathy and guilt. Gratitude has 3 functions that can be conceptualized as morally relevant: (a) a moral barometer function (i.e., it is a response to the perception that one has been the beneficiary of another person's moral actions); (b) a moral motive function (i.e., it motivates the grateful person to behave prosocially toward the benefactor and other people); and (c) a moral reinforcer function (i.e., when expressed, it encourages benefactors to behave morally in the future). The personality and social factors that are associated with gratitude are also consistent with a conceptualization of gratitude as an affect that is relevant to people's cognitions and behaviors in the moral domain.
McCullough
M E
ME
National Institute for Healthcare Research, Rockville, Maryland, USA. mikem@mail.smu.edu
Kilpatrick
S D
SD
Emmons
R A
RA
Larson
D B
DB
D000339:Affect; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009014:Morals; D009042:Motivation; D012919:Social Behavior