2026/01/28 by Agata Gąsiorowska, Rimple Manchanda, Maciej Kościelniak · 1 voice
Psychology · #Cultural Differences and Values #Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions #Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
paper · doi:10.1002/ejsp.70054
openalex publication_date 2026/01/28 · openalex created_date 2026/01/29 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/01
ABSTRACT Building on theories that position gratitude as a social and self‐transcendent emotion, this research examined whether gratitude reduces people's desire for money across four preregistered studies ( N = 3,125). Study 1 provided evidence that gratitude was negatively associated with money desire across three countries (the United Kingdom, Mexico and South Africa). Studies 2–4 provided experimental evidence that various gratitude manipulations consistently reduced money desire. Study 3 revealed two key psychological mechanisms: enhanced social connectedness and increased self‐transcendence. Study 4 examined boundary conditions, finding that gratitude's effect on money desire was strongest among individuals with high levels of beliefs in money's symbolic meaning. These findings suggest that gratitude interventions may help reduce materialistic attitudes by addressing the fundamental psychological desire for money itself, operating through specific mechanisms that foster connection to others and transcendence of narrow self‐interest.