感恩表達與配偶之生活適應

Abstract

過去研究指出感恩使個體更正向(Wood, Froh, & Geraghty, 2010)、健康(McCullough, Tsang, & Emmons, 2004)、慷慨(Bartlett & DeSteno, 2006)、獲得更佳的評價(Gordon, Arnette, & Smith, 2011)、並且擁有更多正向人際關係(Lambert, Clark, Durtschi, Fincham, & Graham, 2010)。然而，沒有研究將個體感恩的效用延伸至其周遭他人。本研究因此假設生活在感恩者周遭之他人也能獲得較佳的心理適應。我們在研究中發現，在婚姻中，個體的感恩特質負向關連到其配偶之憂鬱傾向。研究二再製了此發現，指出相對於分享挫折，感恩伴侶相對舒緩了個體配偶之憂鬱。除此之外，研究二亦指出此舒緩效果並非僅透過關係參與度達成。亦即感恩本身仍是重要且有意義的。我們從此發現之可能機制、研究限制、以及未來可能之延伸加以討論結果。

Research has shown that gratitude makes people happier (Wood et al., 2010), healthier (McCullough et al., 2004), kinder (Bartlett & DeSteno, 2006), better evaluated (Gordon et al., 2011), and even have more stable relationships (Lambert et al., 2010). However, no study has extended the research from individual persons to the impact of their gratitude on the mental well-being of those who surround them. Thus, in the current study, we hypothesized that living with someone grateful would benefit one’s mental adaptation. We found in Study 1 that within marriage, individuals' dispositional gratitude negatively correlated with their spouses' depressive emotion. The results of Study 2 cross-validated Study 1 by showing that people's depression would be relatively palliated if their spouses were assigned to express appreciation but to share daily hassles. More than demonstrating the causal relation between gratitude and 'others'' depression, we showed in Study 2 that this beneficial effect of gratitude operated over and above relationship engagement between spouses. Though latter was an amplifier of the former, it was not the underlying mechanism. We discuss the findings in terms of their mechanisms, limitations, and how they connected themselves to future investigation.