CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Transition from adolescence to young adulthood is a period of “storm and stress”. It involves

rapid biological, cognitive, social as well as psychological challenges. Going through that

phase, one has to cope with their newly autonomous personal life as well as academic and

social demands while constantly working towards their professional goals. This is especially

difficult for young adults as while in school the late adolescents are considered as kids but in

a span of few months as they enter college, they are seen as adults by the society.

Entering college is considered a great milestone for young adults in India as it coincides

with the elder members of their family and near and dear ones, significantly increasing the

focus on their choice of first degree-course and long-term career path. They do so because

they are well aware that the well-being of these young adults in the long run will materially

depend on the choices they make in the next three to four years. However, overdoing these

concerns is easy and quiet dangerous as college students already face a wide variety of

personal and psychological challenges, due to which they find it difficult to adjust with these

significant changes in their academic and family affairs. It could lead to them making sub-

optimal career decisions and failing to manage their time properly, which in turn could result

in unsuccessful outcomes for them both in their career as well as personal life.

Gjerde (1993) has described undergraduate education as “a sensitive period in an

individual‟s lifespan, and as regarded by many, this period is important for developing

systems, strategies and intervention methods that may prevent or reduce mental problems.”

As college students grow into adults, most of them can evaluate their experiences,

achievements as well as their failures, which directly affects their mental health. According to

Kesseler et al. (2005) “mental health problems are significant public health concern for all
Introduction 2

age groups, but especially for college students because the majority of mental disorder first

emerges between age of 15 to 24 years.” This view is supported by College Student Survey

2010 report, that mental health problems have extreme influence on the ability of students to

fully engage in their college experience, which affects their physical and emotional well-

being leading to dismal academic performance, and interpersonal relationships. However,

mental health is not simply the absence of disorder. It is rather a positive state of cognitive,

emotional, psychological and social well-being that helps an individual to function

successfully, work productively, have fulfilling relationships, make meaningful contributions

to the community and having the ability to adapt and cope with stresses in life.

Diener (2008) concluded through various cross-cultural studies that college students

from all around the world consider happiness and life satisfaction as very crucial and that

attaining happiness in life is universal human goal across different cultures. With increasing

trend of globalization, modernization, individualistic survival and fierce competition,

maintaining a good mental health has become a challenge for everyone, especially college

students who have recently experienced their newfound Independence. The two main

components of good mental health are the absence of negative symptoms and the presence of

positive indicators such as performing high-level of adaptation, having fulfilling relationships

with others, mental balance, resilience, maturity self-esteem, and self control.

According to Keyes (2013)“mental health is considered as a complete state consisting

of both the absence of mental illness and the presence of high-level well-being.” This study

focuses on the positive side of mental health, of which subjective well-being is a crucial

component. In words of Diener & Tov (2008) “ subjective well-being denotes a stable

overall sense of well-being; and alluded to emotional (e.g. how frequently when experiences

positive emotions like happiness) and cognitive emotions (e.g. judgments of ones satisfaction

with life) that are relatively enduring rather than momentary.” Diener (2008) describes
Introduction 3

subjective well-being as “people‟s evaluation of their lives that includes cognitive judgments

(life satisfaction) and affective evaluations (moods and emotions), in simpler words, a

person‟s emotional reaction to events, his moods, judgment he forms about his life

satisfaction, fulfillment and satisfaction with domains such as marriage and work.”

Good mental health is a very important component of contemporary dynamic society,

particularly college students as their life is becoming more complicated and more challenging

day-by-day, it has become vital for them to develop and maintain good mental health. In the

present investigation, mental health is appraised in terms of presence of subjective well-being

and self-esteem and not just the lack of mental illness.

Positive mental health quality helps the individual use supported resources to make a

more effective way to deal with all kinds of pressure in life, adjusting the balance of self

(Taylor et al., 2000). Peng et al. (2013) showed that individuals with high level of self-

esteem also have a high level of self-harmony and mental health status. Shim et al. (2013)

and Tian et al. (2013) in their respective studies found that general well-being is positively

affected by self-esteem. Just like subjective well-being is the key to good mental health, this

study hypothesizes that self-esteem and gratitude are significant drivers of subjective well

being. Rosenberg (1965) defines self -esteem as an individual‟s judgment of his self-worth.

Tomaka & Blaskovich (1991) regarded self-esteem as the “evaluative component of the

self-concept, which represents cognitive, behavioral, and evaluative & affective aspects of

self. It is a way one feels about on self-including the degree to which one possess self-

acceptance.” Gratitude is a positive emotion that is felt by the people all around the world,

despite cultural variation, frequently and fervently. Gratitude is defined as an emotional state

characterized by self-reported feelings of thankfulness and gratefulness, which are evolved

by the beneficiary‟s awareness of and elaboration on the benefactor and the benefits received.

Many authors and philosophers have also defined gratitude and its concept as being
Introduction 4

associated with religious and spiritual beliefs. While the effect of self-esteem on subjective

well-being is rather easy to imagine by definition, gratitude has been theorized to affect the

level of subjective well-being in at least a couple of indirect ways.

Below, these ideas are discussed in greater details followed by a comprehensive assessment

of existing research related to these ideas and an in-depth discussion and analysis of the key

findings of the study in the following chapters.

The Construct Of Subjective Well-Being

From the view point of “hedonism” well-being is defined as essentially being about

maximizing pleasure and minimizing (or avoiding) pain. The measurement of subjective

well-being is basically the measurement of how people feel and think about their lives. To

some individuals subjective well-being is directly linked with the amount of wealth they

possess, while others value relationships more, still some others consider the ability to help

those in need as a major source of happiness in their lives. Individuals may share the same

level of subjective well-being despite varying significantly in their respective external

circumstances. Subjective well-being is vital in terms of influencing a person to behave in a

particular way. Individuals could also spend more time doing things that makes them happy.

People who are considered having a high level of subjective well-being are generally those

who have a high level of satisfaction with their life, and who experiences a greater positive

affect and little or less negative affect.

While most people spend most of their lives in pursuit of happiness or subjective well-

being, the level of happiness they achieve varies greatly across entire population. This makes

it worthwhile to understand how to measure subjective well-being and what are the key

factors that drive it. Though the concept of subjective well-being can be traced back to
Introduction 5

Aristotle but the first comprehensive review on “avowed happiness” was published by

Wilson (1967) who said that “the happy person emerges as a young, healthy, well-educated,

well-paid, extraverted, optimistic, worry-free, religious, married person with high self-

esteem, high job morale, modest aspirations of either sex and of a wide range of

intelligence.” Although, the review had little impact and happiness was not established as a

measurable construct. Bradburn (1969) through his book on emotional well-being gave the

concept of positive affect and negative affect, and only after this Diener (1984) through his

review legitimized the study of subjective well-being in psychological science and placed

emphasis on psychological factors contributing to subjective well-being. According to

Diener et al. (1999) modern theories of subjective well-being emphasizes the significant

influence of disposition, goal, adaptation and coping strategies. Diener et al. (2004) further

adds that along with the fluctuation of moods, emotion and self-evaluative judgments over

time, swb researcher also examine the long-term mean level differences in happiness, peace,

fulfillment and life satisfaction, that exists between individual and societies.

According to Diener & Tov (2008) “ althoughhappiness and subjective well-being are

used somewhat interchangeably, subjective well-being is the preferred term by researcher

working in this field as the word happiness has varied meanings, ranging from a pleasant

current mood to quality of life. The term happiness can refer either to momentary positive

feelings or to long-term well-being. However, for ease of exposition, researchers sometimes

use the term happy people primarily to refer to individuals who have a stable, long-term

sense of well-being and are not simply in a temporary positive state momentary.”

According to Siegrest (2003) “subjective well-being refers to people‟s judgments about their

own state. These judgments concern their enduring mood (e.g. happiness) as well as their

evaluation of the self (e.g. satisfaction with one‟s physical and mental health and it‟s

functioning) and its relation to the material and psychosocial environment (e.g. life
Introduction 6

satisfaction, works satisfaction). Mood reflects the perception and evaluation of an

individuals affective state whereas satisfaction with one‟s life condition involves cognitive

judgment that are based on some standard of comparison. These cognitive judgments point to

existing or non-existing discrepancies between expectation and real experience.”

Van Hoorn (2007) posits subjective well-being as “a broad category of phenomena that

includes people‟s emotional responses, domain satisfactions, and global judgments of life

satisfaction.” Subjective well-being, from the viewpoint of some researchers, is experience of

happiness and life satisfaction which is dependent on an individual‟s own cognitive and

perceptual framework, and is highly subjective phenomenon. As noted by Sell & Nagpal

(1992) that psychological well-being indicators consists of 2 components: (i) objective

component is related to „standard of living‟ of an individual, that is, his access to goods and

services (ii) subjective component an individual‟s expectation with himself and perceived

reality. Thus the second components links life to swb, making it a magnitude of congruence

between needs, wishes, demands and opportunities of an individual. Okun & Stock (1987)

identified three features of subjective well-being:

(a) SWB is based on subjective conditions of life instead of the objective experience,

(b) SWB is composed of both positive affect along with negative affect, and

(c) SWB is a global experience as opposed to experience in peculiar or exceptional area

such as war.

Measurement of life satisfaction is not only assessed by integrated judgment of person‟s life

but can also be measured by the effect on particular domain of life. Diener et al. (1997)

defined subjective well-being as “how people evaluate their lives.” According to Argyle &

Crossland (1997) subjective well-being is “a judgment, an evaluation and an appraisal.”

Diener et al. (2004) concluded, “ Subjective well-being is an umbrella term that includes a

variety of related concepts that all pertain to how people feel and think about their lives.
Introduction 7

Whether emotions or cognitions, all forms of subjective well-being represents since the

person‟s evaluation of his or her life, whether at the moment or across time.”

Thus, in essence it can be said that subjective well-being is essentially a person‟s subjective

evaluation of his life, which encompasses concepts such as satisfaction with life, feelings of

fulfillment, pleasant emotions, low level of unpleasant emotion and satisfaction with life

domains such as family, work and marriage. Positive subjective well-being is categorized by

satisfaction with past life, present life as well as with future outlook; with meaningful and

fulfilling relationships; and the desire to change life.

Components Of Subjective Well-being

Subjective well-being is widely accepted to consist of three components forming a global

factor of interrelated variables, which according to Lucas et al. (1996) are interrelated yet

distinguishable. First component, cognitive component refers to a person‟s satisfaction with

life and the other two are affective component labeled as positive affect and negative affect.

According to Diener et al. (1997) each of the three components of all subjective well-being

can be further divided. Global life satisfaction could be spilt into satisfaction with various life

domains such as self, work, recreation, family, leisure, health, finances, and one‟s group,

which successively can be further segregated into facets. Positive affect can be divided into

discrete emotions such as elation joy, contentment, affection, pride, happiness and ecstasy.

Negative affect can be segregated into moods and emotions e.g. guilt, sadness, anxiety,

shame, anger, stress, depression and envy. These sub-divisions of affects can also be further

divided. Thus swb, depending on the purpose, can be measured either at the global level or at

a narrower level.
Introduction 8

Sahoo & Bidyadhar (1998) suggested 4 most prominent dimensions that influence how an

individual evaluate their subjective well-being. They are:

(i) evaluation of positive affective experience

(ii) evaluation of negative effective experience

(iii) feeling of personal competence on handling negative experience

(iv) feeling of personal competence in driving positive experience.

Diener (1984) indicated three cardinal characteristic of the field of swb. First respondent‟s

own perspective and view of their lives, second though the short-term emotion and moods are

studied, the main concern of swb research is long-term affect and life satisfaction. Lastly,

along with the negative sates (depression, stress and anxiety) healthy and positive personality

variables (life satisfaction, pleasant emotions) are also studied. Thus it can be said that as

people move through their needs and goal change (due to transient factors, temporary

perceptions) but their swb remains more or less stable across situations and life span.

Theories of Subjective Well-being

Researches in the field of psychology have proposed different theoretical models to study the

phenomenon of subjective well-being. These theories can be grouped into two major

categories- Cognitive theories, suggests that positive discrepancies between personal

aspiration and perceived reality result in positive well-being while deficits in fulfillingone‟s

needs results in ill-being (Brickman et al., 1978; Wills, 1981; Michalos, 1985; & Headey &

Wearing, 1989). Affective theories maintain that the level of self-satisfaction can

bestrengthen through reduction in aversive state and increase in short-term positive

experience. According to Diener & Larsen (1993) “ well-being reflects the feelings people

experience during their lives.”

Introduction 9

Feist et al. (1995) proposed 2 alternative- structural models to explain individual differences

in swb: top-down or personological and bottom-up of [Link] top-down approach

assumes that the momentary interaction of an individual with the world is influenced by the

global propensity to experience life situations in a positive way. It is assumed that people

have a predisposition to interpret life experiences in either positive or negative way, which in

turn colours one‟s evaluation of satisfaction in specific domains. Experience is not so much

objectively good or bad but rather is interpreted that way. Andrews and Whitney (1974)

reported data that supports a top-down model, which shows that in predicting life satisfaction

the predictor type of domain satisfaction did not matter, which the bottom-up view by

contrast, assumes. Philosophically, this model is Kantain, who held the view that “the mind is

an active interpreter and organizer of sensory experience, not a passive “tabula rasa”, and the

knowledge could be “pure” rather than only empirical.” Aristotle and Democritus, who

emphasized on attitudes, also support this view. It can be said that from this perspective the

primary driver of swb is not the objective circumstances themselves but the person‟s

subjective interpretation of event.

The bottom-up approach assumes that happiness is the sum of many small momentary

pleasures and pain. According to various researchers like Brenner & Bartell (1983); Bryant &

Marquez (1986); Haring et al. (1984) Okun et al. (1990) and Wood et al. (1989)overall sense

of subjective well-being can be developed by summing up well-being in particular domains

like work, marriage, family etc. Diener et al. (1991) suggests that satisfaction and happiness,

as assessed by an individual, is the net effect of how they feel about themselves performing in

the different dimensions in their lives. The findings suggest that satisfaction with life

domains may result from rather than cause global life satisfaction. Philosophically, this

approach is Lockean, who said, “Nothing is in the mind except what was first in the senses.”
Introduction 10

It can be said that from this perspective objective life circumstances that accumulate in

person‟s life are the primary predictors of one‟s level of swb.

Brickman & Campbell (1971) suggested the hedonic treadmill theory according to which

“individuals adapt quickly to changes in their lifestyles and return to their baseline levels of

happiness.” Frederick & Loewenstien (1999) added exceptions to adaptation rule that

includes noise, where individual almost never adapt, and death of loved one, where they

adapt very little or not at all to their baseline of happiness.

Costa & McCrae (1980) suggested the temperament model that prioritizes the role of

personality and its effect on dispositions and perceptions about life events, more positive

temperaments- more positive dispositions and interpretation of life events thus greater level

of subjective well-being.

Heady & Waring (1992) suggested the dynamic equilibrium model, which is in-line with

the hedonic treadmill theory,according to this model the person will eventually adapt to the

change experienced and will return to his level of adaptation and biologically set point.

The process-participation model by Cantor & Sanderson (1999) maintain that in predicting

swb the independent contributions both personality as well as social resources. This means

that positive personality characteristics and high social recourses induce high swb.

The hierarchical structure of well-being by Diener et al. (2009) suggests the several

component of subjective well-being can be organised in a hierarchical structure with various

levels of specificity (Fig 1). The concept of swb sits at the highest level of this hierarchical

structure, which can be better understood by measuring various components of lower levels.
Introduction 11

Figure 1: Hierarchical structure of Well-being (Source: Diener et al., 2009)

SELF-ESTEEM

Quest for self and identity has been central to the journey of mankind in Psychology. Sense

of self summarizes how an individual sees oneself. Self-esteem refers to the value ascribed by

an individual to himself/herself or the way he/she views himself/herself. It is a personality

variable that generally describes the way a person feels, and evaluates his attributes and

ability.

According to Murk (2006) “Self-esteem is a crucial topic to study and research as it stretches

across the full spectrum of human existence. At one end of the human behavioural

continuum, for instance, low self-esteem is often mentioned in regard to various mental

disorders, such as depression, anxiety and learning problems. In the middle of the spectrum,

self-esteem is associated with more ordinary problems of living, such as, difficulties dealing

with failure, losses, and other setbacks. Finally, self-esteem is also found on the other end of
Introduction 12

the continuum because it is often talked about in relation to such things as being mentally

healthy, successful, living effectively and even the good life.”

Self-esteem commonly involves an array of belief about the self,e.g. appraisal of

one‟s own belief, behavior, emotion and appearance. It is a notion that one has of his worth

that is based on his feelings, sensation, thoughts and experiences gathered throughout life,

which maybe a positive or an uncomfortable feeling towards oneself.

Adams & Gullota (1989) states “Self-esteem represents the individual‟s feelings such as self

acceptance, personal appreciation, overall acceptance of the personality and self-love.”

Morganett (2005) defined self-esteem as “a form of self-acceptance, personal appreciation

and subjective respect of one‟s own.”

In words of Piskin (2014) “Self-esteem is to evaluate the difference between a person‟s

image of self and the ideal self. We understand the self-esteem level of the individual by

looking at the discrepancy between how the individual perceive oneself and the self they

would like to be.”

Rosenberg (1965) gave the self-esteem theory according to which “each individual has an

internal worth. These internal values make them feel that they are significant as human

beings, which makes one regularly aspires to improve their internal worth. It is also related to

the ego and generally people with low self-esteem are asserted to be suffering from an

inferiority complex. In general terms, people with moderate self-esteem generally feel their

life worthy, while those with low self-esteem feel that they are less worthy of a good life.” He

further explains that self is constituted of two elements- (i) self-esteem (affective variable)

and (ii) identity (cognitive variable), where identity implies perception and interpretation of

meaning, and self-esteem refers to subjective lie, feelings, behaviour and principle thoughts

of an individual. Self-esteem, according to Rosenberg, emerges as a result of self-evaluation

or judgment of worthiness by the individual.

Introduction 13

According to Shindler (1996) “ Self-esteem could be described as a set of unconscious self-

beliefs, formed over a life time, reflecting people‟s perceptions of their abilities (self-

efficacy), their lovability (a sense of belonging), and how they attribute causality for the

events in their lives(locus of control).”

In similar lines, according to Taylor (1983) “ self-esteem relates to individuals sense of

worth and value, and higher levels of self-esteem are postulated to protect against negative

effects of stress by helping individuals engage in problem solving coping strategies and have

a greater locus of control.”

Tazghini & Siedlecki (2013) defines self-esteem as “ the extent to which one prizes

approves, likes, or values oneself.”

According to Branden (1992) “self-esteem is the disposition to experience oneself as

competent to cope with the basic challenges of life and as worthy of happiness.”

Components of Self-esteem

Branden (1969) suggested 3 key components of self-esteem:

1. it is a fundamental human need, which is essential for normal healthy development

and human survival.

2. It is a resultant of person‟s consciousness and beliefs that automatically arises from

within.

3. It occurs simultaneously with a person‟s feelings, actions, behaviour and thoughts.

Introduction 14

Types of Self-esteem

Global self-esteem

Global self-esteem is used to describe the way people generally feel about them that persists

over time. It is referred to as trait self-esteem because this self-evaluation is relatively static

or enduring over time and across different situations in life. It is the overall opinion of oneself

or general appraisal at a given time on a scale ranging from positive to negative or in simpler

words the general perception people have of themselves.

State self-esteem

Many researcher use state self-esteem to refer to feelings of self-worth. It is relative to

situation (or states) where individuals have feelings regarding their self-worth, which are

temporary or in simpler words, in a particular setting perception of changes in one‟s level of

social inclusion.

Domain specific self-esteem

It is use to describe how people evaluate their personal abilities or attributes. It is related to

an individual‟s self-esteem in regard of particular area, like singing or athletics. Thus, it is

possible for one person to have high self-esteem in some areas (e.g. sports and fine arts) low

self-esteem in others (e.g. beauty and academics).

Theories Related To Self-esteem

Many eminent psychologists refer William James as “the creator of self-esteem movement”

and in the year 1890 propounded the original formula for self-esteem

Success
Self- esteem =
Pretensions
Introduction 15

Where self-esteem is the resultant of how well one actually does (success) versus feeling

good about oneself (pretensions), thus according to this, by varying our expectations and

hopes; and feeling better about ourselves one can regulate the level of self-esteem.

Abram Maslow in his hierarchy of needs (1964,1968) viewed self-esteem as a higher motive

or need, which have two aspects (i) lower- it consist of need for respect received from other

people e.g. recognition, fame, status etc. (ii) higher- it consist of personal desires e.g.

adequacy, achievement, mastery, freedom etc. Most nourishing form of self-esteem

according to Maslow is “the one which manifests in respect we deserve for others, more than

renown, fame and flattery.” Both the aspects of this need must be accomplished in order to

achieve self-actualization.

Alfred Adler in his concept of inferiority, compensation and belongingness, gave the idea of

self-esteem. According to him lower level of self-esteem leads people to make an effort to

overpower their perceived inferiorities, which is a result of their perception while using

compensatory activity individuals can develop talents or strengthens thereby increasing their

self-esteem. When felling of belongingness and self-esteem are established (in later lives)

individual seeks to contribute to his community and society, thus improving self-esteem.

Sociometer theory proposed by Leary et al. self-esteem is a psychological; gauge of

interpersonal relationships, which measure of degree to which person regards or perceive

their relational value and response to how much they are accepted or rejected by others. Thus

they work towards increasing the likelihood of acceptance, which in turn influences their

self-esteem

Terror management theorypropounded by Greenberg et al. (1986) suggests that due to

human biological predisposition towards self-preservation fear of death drives people to

adopt culture worldview that protect their sense of self-esteem, sustainability and worthiness;

and the belief that one is significant contributor in a meaningful world.

Introduction 16

Self determination theory developed by Deci & Ryan (1995) represents a broad framework

of interplay between extrinsic forces acting upon, and the intrinsic motives and needs

inherent in human nature. According to them when an individual gain mastery over

challenges, develop balance between basic psychological needs of life (competence,

relatedness and autonomy) through support of social conditions he can enhance true self-

esteem, personal growth and well being. The three innate needs identified by SDT that allow

optimal function and growth are:

i) Competence: learning of varied skills and gain mastery of tasks.

ii) Relatedness: sense of belonging, attachment with others and experience caring for

others.

iii) Growth: to be in control of own behaviour and goals; and act in harmony with

integrated self.

Figure 2: Model of Self-Determination Theory

Importance of Self-esteem

Sense of worthiness or unworthiness is important as it directly impact a person‟s ability to

make choices and decisions. It is a crucial part of mental health; healthy self-esteem is

imperative for a positive self-concept, happiness and general mental well-being.

Introduction 17

According to Crocker & Major (1989) “the importance of self-esteem can be seen when

one takes a look at the relationship between healthy self-esteem and other psychological

traits. Healthy self-esteem is related with openness, honestly, acceptance, cooperativeness,

independence, creativity, rationality, flexibility and willingness to admit mistakes. In this

way, self-esteem is a very important aspect of psychological functioning.”

High self-esteem is associated with many positive outcomes like better academic

performance, optimism, well-being, etc., such individuals regards themselves as worthy of

positive outcomes, are persistent towards their achieving their goals and aspirations. On the

contrary, low levels of self-esteem, although not a mental condition is linked with depression,

alienation, social anxiety, addiction, shyness, poor relationships etc., Rosenberg found that

insufficient sense of self has a deep impact on mental health, psychological function and

interpersonal behaviour.

Thus it is important to develop a healthy sense of self or self-esteem in young people.

GRATITUDE

The word Gratitude has its roots in Latin word „gratus‟ or „gratitudo‟, which refers to

pleasing, thankful, grateful, or graciousness. Gratitude is a dwindling virtue in modern-day

world. Living in a highly competitive and consumerist society has made people self-centered.

Nowadays people focus on what they lack or what others have rather than being grateful for

what is already present and achieved in their lives. Gratitude is the recognition of goodness in

lives and that it can come from other people, nature or a higher power – and in the process

people connect with something larger than themselves as individuals. The ability to

appreciate everyday experiences empowers individuals to drive a sense of pleasure,

Introduction 18

inspiration and strength from even mundane happenings. It is an active and affirming process

that is pro-social in nature.

From times immemorial, gratitude has been a cornerstone of many philosophies, cultures and

religions like Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Even with

religious and cultural variations, gratitude is experienced in all countries around the globe.

Emmons and McCullough (2003) have viewed gratitude as elementary for personal well-

being as well as for functional communities. As a virtue, it enhances and protects happiness

and well-being. Gratitude is held in high esteem by virtually every religion, culture, society

and every region of the world. From ancient religious scriptures through modern day

psychological research, it is mentioned and researched as a positive covetable human

characteristic, which has the ability to make or create better lives for oneself as well as for

others.

The concept of Gratitude in Psychology

In a historical and traditional way gratitude can easily be understood as the sense of

appreciation or gratefulness experienced and expressed by the receiver of a material gift or

benefit towards the giver. As pointed by Emmons et al. (2003), “historically, gratitude has

been viewed variously as a social and civic virtue, a motivator of benevolence and both a

cognitive and emotional reminder of the social need to reciprocate.”However the modern

psychological and more specifically positive psychologyconstruct of gratitude, has expanded

beyond the boundaries of evolutionary adaptation, & interpersonal or social exchanges, it is

more than just a feeling of thankfulness for someone or something it is rather a deep sense of

appreciation which induces feelings of enduring positivity and doing good. As mentioned by

Emmons (2007) as “sense of thankfulness that arises in response to receiving any kind of
Introduction 19

personal benefit (be it material or non-material) as a result of any transactional means (be it a

personal encounter with another person, with nature, with an object, or even with ideas).”

Emmons & Crumpler (2000) “gratitude has been conceptualized as an emotion, a virtue, a

moral sentiment, a motive, a coping response, a skill, and an attitude. It is all of these and

more. Minimally, gratitude is an emotional response to a gift. It is the appreciation felt after

one has been the beneficiary of an altruistic act.”

McCullough et al. (2001) “The emotion of gratitude is experienced when help is received

that is perceived to be valuable, intentionally provided, and provided at some cost or sacrifice

to the benefactor.”

According to Lambert et al. (2009) “The word gratitude can have different meanings

depending on the context e.g. gratitude has been conceptualized as a moral virtue, an attitude,

an emotion, a habit, a personality trait and a coping response.”

Peterson and Seligman (2004) defined gratitude as “a sense of thankfulness and joy in

response to receiving a gift, whether a gift be a tangible benefit from a specific other or a

moment of peaceful bliss evoked by natural beauty”.

Adler & Fagley (2005) viewed appreciation as a broader form of gratitude and defined it as

“acknowledging the value and meaning of something- an event, a person, a behaviour, an

object- and a feeling of positive emotional connection to it.”

Emmons & Stern (2013) “Gratitude has a dual meaning: a worldly one and a transcendent

one. In its worldly sense, gratitude is a feeling that occurs in interpersonal exchanges when

one person acknowledges receiving a valuable benefit from another. Gratitude is a cognitive

affective state that is typically associated with the perception that one has received a personal

benefit that was not intentionally sought after, deserved, or earned but rather because of the

good intentions of another person.”

Introduction 20

According to Nicogossian (2014) “Gratitude is a feeling or state of thankfulness and

appreciation. It can be externally expressed to others through words, gestures and behaviours,

as well as internal expressions in our mind through thoughts, positive memories and

encouraging self-talks.”

In psychological research, happiness is strongly and unvaryingly associated with gratitude. It

has been found that those who are more grateful feel more positive emotions, build strong

relationships, relish more good experiences, deal with hardship in a better way andimprove

their health. Feeling of gratitude results into the ability to accept, appreciate and cherish even

the small events that happen in everyday life.

There are number of ways in which people can feel as well as express gratitude and it

can be applied to the past, present as well as future because irrespective of the inherent or

current level of gratitude, it‟s a virtue that can successfully cultivate and developed in

children, adolescents, adults or even aged.

As mentioned by Emmons et al. (2004) “Gratitude can be characterized as both a moral and

actively pro-social, emotive concept, the expression of which has potential implications for

life satisfaction and well-being. Whether this conceptualization is valid however has only

recently begun to be empirically explored.”

Types of Gratitude

Just like every other emotion, gratitude can also be divided into state and trait, which are

discussed in details below:

State Gratitude: According to Rosenberg (1988) “Affective states, in comparison to

affective traits, are more accessible to conscious awareness. However, they have a less

pervasive effect on information processing, because of their short duration. Affective states
Introduction 21

comprise emotions and moods. Emotions are involuntary reactions to environmental events

that subside within minutes to hours.” Thus state gratitude can be contemplated as a short-

term or temporary emotion, which is largely determined on the basis of a particular event or

situation. According to Roberts (2004) “state gratitude can also be referred to as episodic

gratitude, when a brief, positive and intense physiological change occurs on the feelings of

gladness.” Gratitude is an emotion that is rooted in the ability to be empathetic towards

appraisal of a received benefit, and has been associated with the adaptive response of

promoting reciprocal benevolent behaviors (McCullough et al., 2002, Bartlett & DeSteno,

2006, Wood et al., 2008).

Trait gratitude: Rosenberg (1988) states, “Although effective traits are typically not

accessible to conscious awareness, they have a pervasive influence on information processing

through their role in organizing, or eliciting, effective states.”Trait gratitude is a character

virtue or trait that is embedded in the personality of individuals, which impact how frequently

people feel gratitude. McCullough et al. (2002) stated,“Grateful disposition is comprised of

four interdependent [Link] with high levels of trait gratitude, as compared to

individuals with low levels of trait gratitude, tend to experience gratitude more often

(frequency), experience gratitude as a powerful state (intensity), are more sensitive to

recognizing life experiences which evoke gratitude (span), and recognize a greater number of

individuals who may have contributed to their personal achievements (density).” Wood et al.

(2010) argued that definitions of trait gratitude have been too narrow in focusing on the

receipt of interpersonal aid, therefore defined trait gratitude as “a wider life orientation

towards noticing and being grateful for the positive in the world. Paying attention with

gratitude to anything in the world & not just a beneficiary makes the individual more likely to

show more personal, social, and prosocial behaviour.”

Introduction 22

Theories of Gratitude

Broaden & Build Theory of Positive Emotion – Barbara Fredrickson, (1998, 2001),

suggests, negative emotions narrow our focus and restrict physical action. The theory further

asserts that positive emotions give rise to broad thought-action repertories that ultimately

build durability, physical, intellectual and social resources. It describes the form and function

of positive emotions including interest, joy, commitment and love. These build over time and

can be utilized during times of adversity as well as at times of growth.

Moral affect theory – McCullough et al. (2001) have suggested that gratitude represents

„moral affect‟. Moral affect is defined as “the affect that results from, and typically

stimulates, moral behavior.” They set out three important functions of gratitude that make it

an affective experience with a particularly moral tone and suggested that gratitude function as

a morel barometer, a moral motive, and a moral reinforcer. “As a moral barometer, gratitude

functions to serve as a measure of the prevision of benefit received from another individual or

moral agent that enhances the receiver‟s well-being. Individuals are most likely to experience

gratitude when (a) they have received particularly valuable benefit (b) effort and cost have

been expended on their behalf (c) the expenditure on their behalf seems genuine, and (d) the

expenditure of effort their behalf was not determined by the existence of a role-based

relationship, where giving and receiving of benefits is expected. Gratitude may work as

„affective readout‟, sensitive to the provision of benefit of another in one‟s social

environment. Gratitude may also act as a moral motive” (McCullough et al. 2001). This

feeling gratefulness can motivate the extension of pro-social behavior towards others.

Based on Broaden and Build model, Alkozei et al. (2017) proposed two casual

frameworks for gratitude and subjective well-being. The first casual framework (Figure 3),

the cognitive framework, which states that “gratitude in particular might broaden the mind in
Introduction 23

terms of interpreting negative or ambiguous situations is a more positive way, having greater

positive memories for past events, and allocating more attention to positive rather than

negative stimuli within the environment; in turn, this may build emotional and physical

resources when having to deal with stressors, leading to greater emotional health and well-

being. Greater subjective well-being as a result will in turn lead to increased experience of

gratitude, creating a feedback loop.”

Figure 3: Cognitive Framework (Source: Alkozei et al.(2017))

The second casual framework (Figure 4), the Psychosocial framework, states that, “gratitude

may broaden the mind by leading the individual to creatively consider a range of different

options of how to repay a benefactor, which in turn may build more positive relationships and

increase social support, leading to greater psychological and physical health. Thus, as

described above, greater well-being will in turn increase the experience of gratitude in one‟s

life.”
Introduction 24

Figure 4: Psychosocial Framework (Source: Alkozei et al.(2017))

Benefits of Gratitude

Gratitude directly or indirectly affects a person by improving personal & relational well-

being, and by providing emotional strength during adversities as well as good times. It is a

way to refocus and appreciate what we have instead of giving attention to what we don‟t have

or lack. Below are some benefits of gratitude:

 Gratitude increases emotional well-being

 Gratitude instigate feeling of sacrifice for the greater good

 Gratitude helps getting along better with others

 Gratitude improves sleep quality

 Grateful people achieve more

 Gratitudeimproves empathy and altruism

 Grateful people are less aggressive, depressive and jealous

Introduction 25

 Grateful people are physically healthier

 Gratitude improves psychological health and mental strength

 Grateful people are more resilient to trauma

 Gratitude opens the door to more and strengthen relationships

 Gratitude improves self-esteem

Ways to cultivate gratitude

As gratitude has multifold benefits, it should be cultivated, developed and practiced by all.

Gratitude is a character strength that can be broaden and strengthen through regular use and

practice. Below are some ways through which gratitude can be cultivated:

 Writing a thank you note or even mentally thanking people who have brougth us

appreciation , joy or have done something nice for us and expressing thankful towards

our own self could help nurturing relationships.

 Maintaining a gratitude record/journal and counting our blessing by daily writing

down positive thoughts and grateful things, will make one more happier and much

grateful.

 Religious prayers and mindful meditation can also help to focus on grateful things

happening and to cultivate gratitude.

 Spending time with loved ones as well as volunteering to help others can also help in

cultivation and development of gratitude.

Introduction 26

Importance of and need for the study of subjective well-being, self-esteem and gratitude

in college students

Everyone aims for a fulfilling and good, satisfying life but as discussed above, it is a

subjective concept and through the study and analysis of positive psychological variables like

subjective well-being, self-esteem and gratitude, the extent to which an individual really likes

his life can be quantified. The study of these attributes is even more crucial for college

students as they play a pivotal role in the betterment of the society and hold the key to the

future of this country and the world. They need to be assessed on and trained to develop and

increase the above-mentioned attributes, as they thrive in positivity and can benefit all. The

basic component of a „good life‟ is that a person should like his life. Researchers have begun

to examine the origin and effects of classical virtues such as gratitude, self-esteem and

subjective well-being as a part of the movement towards positive psychology. Psychologists

have emphasized the need for promotion of positive youth development, in addition to the

already existing focus on pathology and similar related phenomenon (Leener et al., 2003).

Because traditional psychological approaches focused on maladaptive, distorted, deficit and

disorder, it has now become very important to understand and focus on human flourishing

and excellence through the outcomes of positive psychology.

Upon a thorough study of the key attributes of the three psychological parameters

discussed above, namely subjective well-being, self-esteem and gratitude, bring to light that

they seem to be intricately linked to each other and have a great influence on the overall

mental health of an individual. Gratitude acts in more than one indirect way to increase the

level of subjective well-being but the effect of self-esteem on subjective well-being is more

direct and simpler to understand. Not many research studies have been done in the Indian

context, which relates subjective well-being with self-esteem and gratitude of young adults,
Introduction 27

specifically college students. This study focuses on assessing how the levels of self-esteem

and gratitude affect the level of subjective well-being among college students in the

Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh. Subjective well-being and self-esteem are two major

indicators of the positive features of an individual and as the results of this study show,

gratitude, which is relatively easy to inculcate, can positively affect the level of subjective

well-being in individuals and has not been studied as thoroughly in this regard so far.

Gratitude has also been emphasized in many religious texts but very few studies have been

conducted on Indian sample. There is extreme scarcity of studies on these variables

conducted on college-going students of the Bundelkhand region. Results of this study will go

a long way in guiding the planning and implementation of mental health programs in in the

region.