The Grateful Consumer: The Importance of Gratitude in Decision-Making

Abstract

Gratitude—often identified as a feeling of thankfulness or appreciativeness—is important to individual happiness, well-being, and numerous other positive outcomes. Yet surprisingly little is known about the impact of gratitude on the consumer decision-making process, particularly its underlying mechanisms, relative to normative decision-making. Specifically, the current research examines the process by which grateful consumers make decisions and the quality of those decisions in relation to similar constructs, such as “happiness” and “best-possible-self.” Across five studies conducted in the United States, the authors examined the unique influence of gratitude on various consumer decisions, including financial decisions, prosocial giving, and healthy food choices. First, a week-long field study using a gratitude diary, rather than a happiness or best-selves diary, found that gratitude impacted higher-quality decisions, despite all three diaries enhancing feelings of positive emotions (study 1). Next, gratitude influenced health and consumption behaviors (study 2), mediated by specific positive emotions of determination and inspiration, while also reducing negative feelings of guilt and anxiety (study 3). These mediated emotions led to greater deliberation (i.e., careful consideration) towards a healthy eating food choice (study 4). Lastly, temporal focus enhanced (present focus) and mitigated (future focus) gratitude's impact on decision-making (study 5).