A Multitude of Activities: Evaluating a Gratitude Intervention in a Naturalistic Setting

Abstract

Gratitude interventions align well with a prevention perspective because they do not typically focus on treating problems but on enhancing well-being and strengthening positive behaviors. Against this backdrop, the current study is the first to evaluate a 6-week, multicomponent naturalistic gratitude intervention in which participants could choose the type, timing, and frequency of gratitude activities. Participants consisted of 296 employees in a U.S. public university. The gratitude activities within the intervention included learning about gratitude, gratitude letter writing, brief gratitude notes, gratitude walks, gratitude meditation, and change-your-past gratitude journaling (evaluating one’s past through the lens of gratitude). Participants reported increased trait and state gratitude after the intervention. Several personality variables, such as openness to experience, predicted positive intervention outcomes. Additionally, baseline psychological investment (e.g., motivation to engage in gratitude activities) was the most consistent predictor of positive intervention outcomes. Psychological investment indirectly predicted increased post-intervention state gratitude and likelihood of continued practice in gratitude activities via its association with participants’ engagement in a greater variety of gratitude activities. Repeated engagement in gratitude walks and writing brief gratitude notes predicted increased trait gratitude and state gratitude, respectively. These were also the two gratitude activities for which participants reported the highest likelihood of continued practice after the intervention. These findings attest to the advantages of implementing multicomponent, choice-based gratitude interventions, utilizing simple gratitude activities (e.g., taking a gratitude walk and writing brief gratitude notes), and strengthening people’s psychological investment before they participate in an intervention.

Keywords

gratitude interventions positive psychology naturalistic prevention

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