Developing gratitude: An introduction

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: Cicero (54 bc/2009) held that gratitude “is not only the greatest, but is also the parent of all the other virtues” (p. 80). For centuries philosophers (Hume, 1739–40/2007; Mather, 1732; Smith, 1759/2000) and writers (e.g., Dickens [1860–1861/1996], Great Expectations, and Shakespeare [1605/2005], King Lear) have seemed to agree with Cicero, at least considering gratitude as a virtue and treating ingratitude as a moral failing. Moreover, human beings are not alone in responding positively to those who have provided them with help (de Waal, 2006, 2010). Nonetheless, gratitude is clearly not something that is innate (Emmons & Shelton, 2002), and therefore, its development is worthy of study.

Additional Information

Publication
J. R. H. Tudge & L. B. L. Freitas (Eds.), Developing gratitude in children and adolescents (pp. 1–22). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Date: 2017
Keywords
developmental psychology, gratitude, children, adolescents

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