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Is gratitude a moral affect?

M E McCullough·S D Kilpatrick·R A Emmons·D B Larson
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Abstract

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.

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AffectHumansInterpersonal RelationsModels, PsychologicalMoralsMotivationSocial BehaviorJournal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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M E McCullough, S D Kilpatrick, R A Emmons, D B Larson. 2001. Is gratitude a moral affect?. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.127.2.249

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