This morning I was previewing a new textbook for possible adoption in an introductory psychology course and came across an even stonger incentive to experience gratitude. According to Laura A. King in The Science of Psychology by McGraw Hill, gratitude is a complex positive emotion that comes from the “experience of having something good in your life that you realize you have not earned or necessarily deserved.”
Read on. She quotes philosopher Robert Solomon who suggests that gratitude is not only “the best answer to the tragedies of life. It is the best approach to life itself.” King cites others who have shown that being grateful can lead to enhanced happiness and psychological well-being. What’s so neat about this research is the evidence that “even those who are not naturally grateful can benefit by taking a moment to count their blessings.”
Isn’t psychology great? Don’t you want to be happier and have a heightened sense of well-being? Then let’s get started. Share something on this blog that you’re grateful for…and be specific about it.
I’ll start. I’m grateful that the semester is drawing to a close and that I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many neat people this past 15 weeks.
We're psychology instructors (Jayne, Mark, Myles, Katie-in order of our being hired) at a community/technical college who are energized and excited by psychology and its applications to daily life. After all, what's the point of knowing about synapses unless the knowledge improves your understanding of moods, disorders, and memory (to name a few).
We've found that just about everything relates in some form or fashion to the science of human behavior, and it's our goal to help others to see that. Accordingly, we'll be posting opinions, comments, and questions and hoping that you'll respond. We'll also provide links to relevant articles and websites to further increase your knowledge
