title: Benefits of expressing gratitude: expressing gratitude to a partner changes one's view of the relationship.
abstract: This research was conducted to examine the hypothesis that expressing gratitude to a relationship partner enhances one's perception of the relationship's communal strength. In Study 1 (N = 137), a cross-sectional survey, expressing gratitude to a relationship partner was positively associated with the expresser's perception of the communal strength of the relationship. In Study 2 (N = 218), expressing gratitude predicted increases in the expresser's perceptions of the communal strength of the relationship across time. In Study 3 (N = 75), participants were randomly assigned to an experimental condition, in which they expressed gratitude to a friend, or to one of three control conditions, in which they thought grateful thoughts about a friend, thought about daily activities, or had positive interactions with a friend. At the end of the study, perceived communal strength was higher among participants in the expression-of-gratitude condition than among those in all three control conditions. We discuss the theoretical and applied implications of these findings and suggest directions for future research.
authors.affiliation: Florida State University, Family and Child Science, Family Research Institute, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA. natemlambert@gmail.com
authors.forename: Nathaniel M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.forename: Margaret S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Jared
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Durtschi
authors.forename: Frank D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Fincham
authors.forename: Steven M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Graham
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012919:Social Behavior; D012928:Social Desirability; D055815:Young Adult