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A State Gratitude Approach Is It Necessary for Gratitude to Have an Object? A State Gratitude Approach Shueh-Chin Ting, Professor, Department of Education, National University of Tainan, Taiwan ABSTRACT Is it necessary for gratitude to have an object? What are the objects of gratitude? Previous studies have not yet made clarifications on this subject, indicating that there are still unclear areas in the basic concept of gratitude. According to past literature, gratitude can be divided into trait gratitude and state gratitude. This study explores state gratitude. We interviewed 15 adults who have experience with gratitude, asking them to share their gratitude story. We found that even though their reasons for being grateful are different, they all expressed that their gratitude has an object. The object of their gratitude included people, God, the earth, and animals. We found that when the interviewees indicated that their gratitude was directed towards people, classmates, wives, teachers, officials, parents, and even enthusiastic strangers were mentioned. Keywords: emotion, gratitude, reciprocity RESEARCH BACKGROUND AND MOTIVES At present, studies have shown individuals who express gratitude has positive outcomes on oneself, for example, well-being (Toussaint & Friedman, 2009; Wood, Joseph, & Maltby, 2009); has positive effects on others, for example, altruism (Bartlett & DeSteno, 2006; Tsang, 2006); has positive effects on the organization, for example, creating repurchase intention and positive word-of-mouth (Soscia, 2007) and producing long term performance benefits (Palmatier, Jarvis, Bechkoff, & Kardes, 2009). Therefore, gratitude is a topic worth advocating. If gratitude can be effectively utilized in society and in management systems, it can contribute to social harmony and organizational performance. However, one issue worthy of attention: to whom gratitude is directed is unclear, and this was a common issue present in past studies. One possible explanation is that we are very familiar with the noun (gratitude), often expressing it in our daily lives, causing us to often neglect to define the object of our gratitude when mentioning our feelings of gratefulness. Another explanation is that gratitude is a personal trait. Therefore, it is not necessary for gratitude to have an object. Previous studies have established the boundary between trait gratitude and state gratitude (Wood, Maltby, Stewart, Linley, & Joseph, 2008), but most studies do not differentiate between the two. After reading previous research, this study proposes the perspective that trait gratitude is the intensity at which an individual has feelings of gratitude. It is a universal, intrinsic, and personal characteristic that differs among individuals. In addition, state gratitude is not a personal characteristic, but it is an emotional response produced by external stimuli and a product of cognitive assessment and is often accompanied with extrinsic behavior of reciprocity in return to the specific object who benefited him/her. This study is more interested in state gratitude because state gratitude is easier to form than trait gratitude. Government, enterprises, leaders, and even individuals can make great efforts to create state gratitude of people anywhere and anytime, because only by using the correct method and simple issue for 10 The Journal of Human Resource and Adult Learning, Vol. 12, Num. 2, December, 2016 issue citizens, employees, and people around us, they could be directed to a higher state gratitude. Wood, Maltby, Stewart, Linley, & Joseph (2008) have indicated that cost, value, and genuine helpfulness are three important factors of forming state gratitude of people. Cost is defined as the amount invested by the benefactor in order to help the beneficiary. Value is the importance and meaning perceived by beneficiary for the help of the benefactor giving. Genuine helpfulness refers to the motive of the benefactor to help the beneficiary. Since state gratitude stems from stimuli (help from the benefactor), is gratitude supposed to have an object? Do different stimuli produce different objects of gratitude? What are the objects of gratitude? According to the study’s observations, gratitude must have an object. The object does not necessarily have to be a person; it can be God, Mother Nature, mountains, animals, and plants. Because of religious beliefs, people thank God for all that He has given us. Mother Nature has given many precious resources to us. Without sunlight, water, land, and minerals, humanity cannot survive. So Mother Nature produces feelings of gratitude in some people. It may be also because a dog has helped someone, and this person feels grateful towards the dog. Gratitude is similar to feelings of happiness, anger, sadness, and delight in that they all have an object. We ask what makes one happy, what makes one angry, what makes one sad, and what makes one delightful? For gratitude, what makes one grateful? Therefore, we believe that gratitude has an object, but it does not necessarily have to be a person. Even though this research regards gratitude as possessing an object, there is not yet an in-depth study for this issue. Is it necessary for gratitude to have an object? It is an issue of attribution of gratitude. Surely, attribution of gratitude is not only an object issue. Cohen (2006) found that there is still debate on whether attribution of gratitude is necessary while sorting through previous studies. Therefore, we believe this is a topic worthy of exploring. RESEARCH DESIGN The research problem is exploratory, thus we used the interview method to conduct the study. First, we filtered adults who have experience with gratitude and still retain memory of the experience as the interviewees. Then, we invited them to accept the interview, with 15 subjects accepting. Next, we proceeded to the interviews, asking the interviewees to describe their gratitude story according to their true, real-life experiences. Based on the interviewees’ accounts, we determined whether it is necessary for gratitude to have an object and what the object of their gratitude is. The 15 interviewees were between the ages of 25 to 60, resided in Taiwan, and have legitimate jobs from a background of a wide range of careers including soldier, cement finisher, factory operator, store clerk, salesman, bank teller, engineer, designer, and company manager. Seven interviewees were male and eight were female. RESULTS According to the results of the interviews, this study found that every grateful interviewee explicitly referred to the object of their gratitude, which included people, God, the earth, and animals, indicating that gratitude has an object, though the object does not necessary have to be people. It can be God, the earth, or animals. Some interviewees indicated that the object of their gratitude is people. The following are their accounts: The Journal of Human Resource and Adult Learning, Vol. 12, Num. 2, December, 2016 issue 11 During my time of economic hardship, I was struggling in my daily life and I couldn’t find anyone who would lend me money. I ran into a chance encounter with a classmate who I hadn’t seen for years. When he learned of my recent turn of events, he gave me 20,000 TWD, which allowed me to return to my routine life. I still remember what he did for me to this day. I am forever grateful to him. Every New Year, I always say him a happy New Year, because he lent me a helping hand in my time of the most need. (Gratitude to a classmate) If I have to recall a story in which I am the most grateful, I’d say when I was young, I was inconsiderate. I abandoned my wife and children. I then served a 10 year sentence in jail. At the time my children were 2 and 4 years old. No money at home, but God blessed me with a great wife. She endured hardships and took care of the two children during the 10 years. Without her, I would not have the home I have today. (Gratitude to wife) In the process of falling in love, I was met with many things that didn’t go as planned and the way I wanted it to be. It can be described as miserable. I was very good to my boyfriend. I treated him many times better than I treated myself. I loved deeply and let myself live miserably. I found out later that my boyfriend doesn’t love me. After being broken up for many years, I was still unhappy. Until I started to continue my studies, met my advisor, and was busy with schoolwork and my thesis, leading me slowly returned to a normal life. My advisor is optimistic and very proactive when doing things. She feels a strong sense of mission to society. Every week when I visited her to discuss my thesis, she can advise me on my thesis, in addition, we also discussed topics other than the paper. I learned and changed a lot from our conversations; my way of thinking became broader. My personality and outlook on life became more optimistic. My advisor is my savior. I thank her with all my life. (Gratitude to a teacher) One night while going home after a graveyard shift, I was robbed. A young man—a stranger—happened to pass by. He was very vigilant and quickly pulled out his cell phone, yelling, “Police! There’s a robbery at...” I later found out that he did not have time to dial; he was only shouting so that the robber can hear. Unexpectedly, the robber came at him. There was a fight and even though the robber was subdued, the man who helped me was still injured. I feel very sorry because I owe him. There are actually many good people out there in the world. If this kind young man did not come to the rescue during this incident, the consequences are unimaginable.
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