Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home COVID-19

Gratitude and kindness interventions might help to increase positive emotions during the pandemic

by Eric W. Dolan
December 9, 2021
in COVID-19, Mental Health

Enhance your understanding of the human mind and mental health trends. Click here to follow PsyPost on LinkedIn.
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

New research published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being provides evidence that completing brief gratitude or kindness assignments can boost positive emotions during a pandemic.

According to the positive activity model of happiness, expressing gratitude or practicing kindness promotes well-being because it helps to satisfy basic psychological needs such as autonomy, connectedness, and competence. Researchers were interested in whether this model could be used in a 3-week online intervention to increase well-being in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

“I am interested in exploring the effects of online gratitude and kindness interventions on mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic given that my primary research expertise revolves around positive psychology, positive education, and inclusive education,” said study author Jesus Alfonso D. Datu, an assistant professor at The Education University of Hong Kong and head of the Science of Happiness and Positive Education (SHAPE) Lab.

In the study, 107 Filipino undergraduate students were randomly assigned to complete online tasks that involved writing about their accomplishments, gratitude, or acts of kindness.

Each week, those in the accomplishments condition — which was used as a control group — listed five academic or work-related accomplishments.

Those in the gratitude condition were first asked to “List five specific things, events, or people that you are grateful for”; the next week they were asked to “Reflect on the person that you are most grateful for since the start of the COVID-19 health crisis. Write a thank you letter which describes how and why you are thankful to him/her”; and the third week they were asked to “Select your most favorite quotation about gratitude. Describe a recent experience or event demonstrating this quote’s relevance to your life.”

Those in the kindness condition were first asked to “List five acts of kindness that you did for your family, friends, or strangers this week”; the next week they were asked to “Recall and narrate a specific kind act that you performed in the past few days to help a family, friend, or stranger cope with financial or non-financial (e.g., social and emotional) challenges associated with COVID-19. Describe this person’s reaction to your behavior”; and the third week they were asked to “Select your favorite quotation about kindness. Describe a recent experience or event demonstrating this quote’s relevance to your life.”

The participants also completed assessments of perceived satisfaction with life, positive and negative emotions, and COVID-related anxiety at the beginning and end of the study.

The researchers found that participants in gratitude and kindness conditions tended to experience more positive emotions than those assigned to the control condition. The findings indicate that “engaging in activities to promote gratitude and kindness can boost positive emotions during the pandemic outbreak,” Datu told PsyPost.

“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first investigation of its kind to show how technologically driven gratitude and kindness interventions can yield COVID-19 emotional benefits, with effect sizes that are comparable with prior research on online positive psychological interventions,” the researchers wrote in their study.

But the intervention appeared to have no significant impact on life satisfaction, negative emotions, and COVID-19 anxiety.

“Given that this study was based on data from an online pilot experiment, more studies are needed to rigorously evaluate the impacts of virtual gratitude and kindness interventions on well-being during the pandemic outbreak,” Datu said. “Future research also needs to pinpoint precise psychological processes that underscore the benefits of online positive psychological activities on mental health functioning.”

The study, “The effects of gratitude and kindness on life satisfaction, positive emotions, negative emotions, and COVID-19 anxiety: An online pilot experimental study“, was authored by Jesus Alfonso D. Datu, Jana Patricia M. Valdez, Dennis M. McInerney, and Ryan Francis Cayubit.

ShareTweetSendScanShareSharePin1Send

Thanks for reading! Click here to support PsyPost by becoming a paid subscriber. In an age where information is abundant but quality knowledge is scarce, PsyPost ensures that you stay updated on the most recent and relevant discoveries made in psychology and neuroscience.

STAY CONNECTED

TRENDING

New neuroscience research upends traditional theories of early language learning in babies

Psychological and neurobiological foundations of musical pleasure illuminated by new research

Owners of sex dolls are less prone to sexual aggression, but also have lower sexual self-esteem

New insight into social anxiety: How emotional context alters face perception

Scientists revisit Solomon Asch’s classic conformity experiments — and are stunned by the results

Decoding addiction: Study identifies brain circuits impacted by dopamine surges

RECENT

AI scores in the top percentile of creative thinking

Decoding addiction: Study identifies brain circuits impacted by dopamine surges

Longitudinal study links childhood pet attachment to lower adolescent anxiety

Psychological and neurobiological foundations of musical pleasure illuminated by new research

New insight into social anxiety: How emotional context alters face perception

New study reveals promising effects of psilocybin in treating severe depression in bipolar II disorder patients

A video game might be effective in reducing fear of needles in children

Scientists revisit Solomon Asch’s classic conformity experiments — and are stunned by the results

  • Cognitive Science
  • COVID-19
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Drug Research
  • Conspiracy Theories
  • Meditation
  • Psychology of Religion
  • Aviation Psychology and Human Factors
  • Relationships and Sexual Health
  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Neuroimaging
  • Psychedelic Drugs
  • Dark Triad
  • Political Psychology
  • Contact us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and Conditions
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Manage your privacy
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Statistics

Marketing

Features
Always active

Always active
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Manage options
{title} {title} {title}
Manage your privacy

To provide the best experiences, we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site and show (non-) personalized ads. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.

Click below to consent to the above or make granular choices. Your choices will be applied to this site only. You can change your settings at any time, including withdrawing your consent, by using the toggles on the Cookie Policy, or by clicking on the manage consent button at the bottom of the screen.

Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Statistics

Marketing

Features
Always active

Always active
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Manage options
{title} {title} {title}