The Journal of Positive Psychology Vol. 4, No. 1, January 2009, 32–42 More gratitude, less materialism: The mediating role of life satisfaction Nathaniel M. Lambert a * , Frank D. Fincham a , Tyler F. Stillman a and Lukas R. Dean b a Florida State University; b William Paterson University (Received 17 October 2007; final version received 15 May 2008) An empirical relationship has been documented between gratitude and materialism, such that stronger feelings of gratitude are associated with lower materialism. Building on Fredrickson’s (1998, 2001) theory that positive emotions ‘broaden’ and ‘build’ we sought to expand upon this finding by (1) examining satisfaction with life as a potential mechanism for this relationship, and (2) exploring the causal direction of this relationship through experimental means. Study 1 (n ¼ 131) demonstrated that satisfaction with life mediated the relationship between gratitude and materialism. Study 2 (n ¼ 171) showed that that experimentally induced gratitude resulted in higher satisfaction with life and lower materialism in a high gratitude condition compared to an envy (low gratitude) condition. Implications and directions for future research were discussed. Keywords: gratitude; materialism; satisfaction with life; broaden-and-build theory; positive psychology Introduction As more researchers have begun to explore factors that enhance human life, there has been increasing attention to the effect of positive emotions on mental health outcomes. A useful theory in this emerging work is the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 1998, 2001). The broaden-and-build theory asserts that negative emotions, like the fear experienced in a threatening situation, narrow a person’s momentary thought-action repertoire to promote quick and decisive action such as ‘fight or flight.’ In contrast, positive emotions broaden momentary thought-action repertoires, which widen the array of thoughts that come to mind. For instance, joy appears to broaden the thought-action repertoire by creating the urge to play, be creative, push the limits, and so on (Fredrickson, 2001). Likewise, a positive emotion such as curiosity creates the urge to explore, to take in new experiences and information, and to expand the self in the process. Fredrickson argued that such broadening emotions build enduring personal resources such as social bonds, health, and knowledge. The broadening and building of gratitude Gratitude appears to fit Fredrickson’s description of a positive emotion. The word gratitude is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means graciousness, grace, or gratefulness. All derivatives from this Latin root ‘have to do with kindness, generousness, gifts, the beauty of giving and receiving, or getting something for nothing’ (Pruyser, 1976, p. 69). Gratitude has been conceptualized in several different ways including a moral virtue, an attitude, an emotion, a habit, a personality trait, and a coping response (Emmons, McCullough, & Tsang, 2003). Emmons (2004, p. 9) defined gratitude as ‘the recognition and appreciation of an altruistic gift.’ Fitzgerald (1998) identified three important components of gratitude including: (a) a warm sense of appreciation for something or somebody; (b) a sense of goodwill toward that thing or person; and (c) a resultant disposition to act positively due to appreciation and goodwill. The preceding observations suggest that gratitude, as a positive emotion, broadens one’s perspective and builds other positive emotions or attributes. For example, in a recent review, McCullough, Kilpatrick, Emmons, and Larson (2001) presented a great deal of evidence that gratitude promotes prosocial behavior. Other researchers have suggested that kind acts inspired by gratitude build and strengthen social bonds and friendships (Emmons & Shelton, 2002; McCullough & Tsang, 2004; McCullough et al., 2001). McCullough, Emmons, and Tsang (2002) found that gratitude was related to higher levels of life satisfac- tion. The potential of gratitude to build feelings of life satisfaction is important in its own right, as gratitude is an emotion that may be readily induced (e.g., Bartlett & DeSteno, 2006; Jackson, Lewandowski, Fleury, & Chin, 2001), and could be utilized by clinicians to reduce depression or anxiety in their clients. In the *Corresponding author. Email: natemlambert@gmail.com ISSN 1743–9760 print/ISSN 1743–9779 online ß 2009 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/17439760802216311 http://www.informaworld.com Downloaded By: [Lambert, Nathaniel M.] At: 12:36 24 February 2009