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Studies

Emmons & McCullough (2003): study US 1998 /2

Publication

Author(s):
Emmons, R.A.; McCullough, M.E.
Title:
Counting Blessings versus Burdens: an Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life.
Source:
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2003, Vol. 84, 377 - 389

Investigation

Public
Medical patients in Gratitude exercise, USA 1998
Survey name
Unnamed study
Sample
Non-probability self-selected
Respondents
N = 65
Non Response
Assessment
Diary
21 daily experience rating forms, to be completed at the end of the day

Happiness Measure(s) and Distributional Findings

Full text:
Self report  on 30 questions repeated  9 weeks

To what extent did you feel last week,,
A interested
B distressed
C excited
D alert
E irritable
F sad
G stressed
H ashamed
I happy
J grateful
K tired
L upset
O strong
P nervous
Q guilty
R joyful
S determined
T thankful
U calm
V  attentive
X  forgiving
Y hostile
Z energetic
Aa hopeful
Ab enthusiastic
Ac active
Ad afraid
Ae proud
Af appreciative
Ag angry

Rated
1 not at all
2
3
4
5 very much

Computation:  (A+C+D+I+G+J+O+R+S+T+U+V+X+Z+Aa+Ab+Ac+AF)/17 - (B+E+F+G+H_+K+L+P+Q+Y+Ad+AG)/13
Classification:
A-AB-cw-mqr-v-5-a
Full text:
Self report on single question:

Taking everything into account about what has happened in the last year and what you expect in the near future, how do you feel about your life in general?
7  delighted
6  pleased
5  mostly satisfied
4  equally satisfied as dissatisfied
3  mostly dissatisfied
2  unhappy
1  terrible
-   no feelings at all
-   never thought about it
Classification:
O-DT-c-sq-v-7-a
Author's label:
Global appraisal of life as a whole
Page in publication:
380
Full text:
Clinical rating by six staff psychologists who had studied the subjects intensively.

Subjects were ranked for "Happiness"
Classification:
O-V-u-rc-n-5-a

Correlational Findings

Author's label Subject Description Finding Happiness training: Gratitude exercises. Change in thankfulness
Gratitude training
On invitation, paid in money or study credit