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What Are Grateful People Like? Characteristics of Grateful People

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Gratitude and the Good Life

Abstract

In this chapter I describe the characteristics of grateful people. I use McAdams and Pals (Am Psychol 61:204–217, 2006) organizational scheme to describe the basic dispositions, the characteristic adaptations, and the life stories of grateful people. There are many studies that have investigated the traits of grateful people, and these are described in the context of the gratitude amplification theory. In general, results from these studies support this theory. Because there is a rich database that speaks to the spirituality of grateful individuals, I explore the religious and spiritual characteristics that have been found to be associated with gratitude. In summary, grateful individuals tend to be agreeable and cheerful. Gratitude is also associated with spirituality. I propose that the picture of the grateful person may be characterized by grace: grateful people sense that they have received undeserved favor and good will, and grateful people are prone to showing favor and good will toward others.

An humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow.

–Henry Ward Beecher

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  1. Department of Psychology, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA, USA

    Philip C. Watkins

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Watkins, P.C. (2014). What Are Grateful People Like? Characteristics of Grateful People. In: Gratitude and the Good Life. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7253-3_5

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