Abstract

Gratitude manifests itself in several forms with distinct psychological properties. The common forms of gratitue experience could be structured into three hierarchical levels of analysis: gratitude as affective traits, gratitude as a mood, and gratitude as an emotion. Research has shown that gratitude is a pleasant state and is linked with positive emotions including contentment, happiness, pride, and hope. Dispositional gratitude is related to but distinct from trait measures of positive affect, vitality, optimism, envy, depression, and anxiety. Although gratitude overlaps with other positive feelings, it also possesses a unique pattern of appraisals that distinguishes it from happiness. (Korean J Str Res 2007;15:215∼219)

• Keywords: Gratitude, Positive psychology, Happiness, Trait, Mood, Emotion