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Cited by 1,698Emotions and Moral BehaviorPsychological Well-being and Life SatisfactionPsychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 144 of the 144 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Is gratitude a moral affect?

McCullough, Michael E., Kilpatrick, Shelley D., Emmons, Robert A., Larson, David B.·2001·Psychological Bulletin
DOI 10.1037/0033-2909.127.2.249
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Abstract

Gratitude is conceptualized as a moral affect that is analogous to other moral emotions such as empathy and guilt. Gratitude has 3 functions that can be conceptualized as morally relevant: (a) a moral barometer function (i.e., it is a response to the perception that one has been the beneficiary of another person's moral actions); (b) a moral motive function (i.e., it motivates the grateful person to behave prosocially toward the benefactor and other people); and (c) a moral reinforcer function (i.e., when expressed, it encourages benefactors to behave morally in the future). The personality and social factors that are associated with gratitude are also consistent with a conceptualization of gratitude as an affect that is relevant to people's cognitions and behaviors in the moral domain.

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Crossref · 10.1037/0033-2909.127.2.249

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144 of 144 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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Citations

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Research works printed but not linked: 13

  1. Batson, 1991, The altruism question.
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  8. Heider, 1958, The psychology of interpersonalrelations.
  9. Kernberg, 1975, Borderline conditions and pathologicalnarcissism.
  10. Moore, 1996, Americans most thankful for family and health:young also thankful for career/job.
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Metadata

Authors
McCullough, M. E., Kilpatrick, S. D., Emmons, R. A., & Larson, D. B.
Affiliations
  • Southern Methodist University (US)
  • University of California, Davis (US)
ORCID
Venue
Psychological Bulletin
Publisher
American Psychological Association (APA)
Published
2001-03
Volume
127
Issue
2
Pages
249-266
ISSN
  • 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1455
DOI
10.1037/0033-2909.127.2.249
OpenAlex
W2014281368
Cited by
1,698
References
143
Citations by year
2026: 76 · 2025: 123 · 2024: 103 · 2023: 117 · 2022: 137 · 2021: 131 · 2020: 125 · 2019: 105 · 2018: 72 · 2017: 82 · 2016: 92 · 2015: 92 · 2014: 90 · 2013: 69 · 2012: 48
FWCI
15.38
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
Keywords
gratitude, moral emotions, prosocial behavior, empathy, guilt, moral cognition, personality factors
MeSH terms
Affect, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Models, Psychological, Morals, Motivation, Social Behavior

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