The development of the virtue of gratitude: Theoretical foundations and cross-cultural issues

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Jonathan R. Tudge, Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: The expression of gratitude by children and young adolescents in different societies is the topic of this special issue. We introduce the concept of gratitude as a virtue, explaining its differences from gratitude viewed as a positive emotion. Although most research on gratitude uses samples from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) societies (primarily from the United States), we discuss the importance of studying the development of gratitude across different cultural groups. Despite the evidence to suggest that the expression of gratitude is viewed as desirable across multiple societies and historical periods, there is no reason to assume that developmental pathways found in one or other WEIRD society would be found in non-WEIRD societies or that the latter would have similar pathways. Children’s gratitude expression across countries is explored in this special issue using Baumgarten-Tramer’s (1938) paradigm as well as Kagitçibasi’s (2007) framework to address both differences and similarities across cultures.

Additional Information

Publication
Cross-Cultural Research, Special Issue on Cross-cultural variations in the development of the virtue of gratitude (Eds. E. A. Merçon-Vargas, K. Poelker, & J. R. H. Tudge), 52, 3–18
Language: English
Date: 2018
Keywords
gratitude, moral virtue, cross-cultural research, development

Email this document to