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.
