The effects of gratitude and kindness on life satisfaction, positive emotions, negative emotions, and COVID-19 anxiety: An online pilot experimental study

Jesus Alfonso Daep DATU, Jana Patricia Millonado VALDEZ, Dennis Michael MCINERNEY, Ryan Francis CAYUBIT

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

36 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The continuous surge in the number of confirmed diagnoses and fatalities associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused debilitating economic, educational, social, and psychological issues. However, little is known about how psychological interventions may boost well-being outcomes amid the pandemic. This research addresses this gap by examining the effects of gratitude and kindness interventions on life satisfaction, positive emotions, negative emotions, and COVID-19 anxiety via an online pilot experimental study. A 3-week online pilot experiment was implemented among 107 Filipino undergraduate students (M = 20.27; SD = 1.10). These participants were randomly assigned to kindness (n = 37), gratitude (n = 32), and control (n = 38) conditions. The results showed that there were significant differences on positive emotions when controlling for the baseline well-being, gratitude, and kindness scores across all conditions (i.e., gratitude, kindness, and control). Participants assigned in the gratitude and kindness conditions had significantly higher scores on positive emotions than those in the control condition. The findings point to the emotional benefits associated with promoting gratitude and kindness during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research contributes to scarce literature on the applicability of well-being interventions in non-Western cultural contexts. Copyright © 2021 The International Association of Applied Psychology.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)347-361
JournalApplied Psychology: Health and Well-Being
Volume14
Issue number2
Early online dateOct 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2022

Citation

Datu, J. A. D., Valdez, J. P. M., McInerney, D. M., & Cayubit, R. F. (2022). The effects of gratitude and kindness on life satisfaction, positive emotions, negative emotions, and COVID-19 anxiety: An online pilot experimental study. Applied Psychology: Health and Well‐Being, 14(2), 347-361. doi: 10.1111/aphw.12306

Keywords

  • COVID-19 anxiety
  • Gratitude
  • Kindness
  • Subjective well-being

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