Showing papers by "Michael E. McCullough published in 2006"

Writing about the benefits of an interpersonal transgression facilitates forgiveness.

Abstract: The authors examined the effects of writing about the benefits of an interpersonal transgression on forgiveness. Participants (N 304) were randomly assigned to one of three 20-min writing tasks in which they wrote about either (a) traumatic features of the most recent interpersonal transgression they had suffered, (b) personal benefits resulting from the transgression, or (c) a control topic that was unrelated to the transgression. Participants in the benefit-finding condition became more forgiving toward their transgressors than did those in the other 2 conditions, who did not differ from each other. In part, the benefit-finding condition appeared to facilitate forgiveness by encouraging participants to engage in cognitive processing as they wrote their essays. Results suggest that benefit finding may be a unique and useful addition to efforts to help people forgive interpersonal transgressions through structured interventions. The Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory—18-Item Version (TRIM–18) is appended.

Positive Responses to Benefit and Harm: Bringing Forgiveness and Gratitude into Cognitive Psychotherapy

Abstract: Forgiveness and gratitude represent positive psychological responses to interpersonal harms and benefits that individuals have experienced. In the present article we first provide a brief review of the research that has shown forgiveness and gratitude to be related to various measures of physical and psychological well-being. We then review the empirical findings regarding the cognitive and affective substrates of forgiveness and gratitude. We also offer a selective review of some of the interventions that appear to be effective in encouraging forgiveness and gratitude. To conclude, we suggest some ways in which the insights from the basic research on promoting forgiveness and gratitude might be meaningfully integrated into cognitive psychotherapy. Keywords: forgiveness; gratitude; well-being; cognitive psychotherapy; interpersonal Recently psychologists have reached a consensus that research has seriously neglected the strengths of human behavior (Fredrickson, 1998; McCullough & Snyder, 2000; Myers & Diener, 1995; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Taylor, 2001 ). They argue that, instead of articulating the positive experiences that improve quality of life, many theories in psychology have focused mainly on curbing aggression, reducing psychopathologies, and controlling vices. Positive psychology is a response to this perceived oversight. An area in which positive psychology might be applied successfully to cognitive psychotherapy is in the area of people's responses to other people's treatment of them. How should people respond when they are treated particularly well-or particularly poorly by others? Theorists of cognitive psychotherapy have had much to say about people's maladaptive responses to such interpersonal behavior (e.g., anger), but have had surprisingly little to say about positive responses to such behavior. In this domain, positive psychology may have much to offer: By helping people to respond more positively when others harm them and to better savor the interpersonal situations in which others are benevolent toward them, people may be able to gain resources for psychological well-being that would go untapped otherwise. The major reasons for the current success of cognitive psychotherapy are that: (a) identification and modification of specific cognitive processes associated with desired therapeutic outcomes have helped produce effective treatments; (b) such treatments have been consistently replicated by cognitive therapists; and (c) such treatments have yielded effects that are not only beneficial but appealing to clients who are increasingly seeking rational ways of directly improving their lives (Leahy, 2002). In this spirit, gratitude and forgiveness may also be useful additions to the armamentarium of cognitive psychotherapists. We now have a clear picture of the basic mechanisms underlying both phenomena, the reasons they are beneficial for people, practical applications for facilitating them, and we also know that the practice of forgiveness and gratitude are tools that clients can employ beyond the treatment context to directly improve their lives. Forgiveness is a positive psychological response to interpersonal harm, and gratitude is a positive psychological response to interpersonal benefits. Despite the fact that forgiveness and gratitude have been viewed as perennial human concerns in many ancient theories of the good life (Emmons & McCullough, 2003b; McCullough & Worthington, 1999), psychologists have only recently begun to explore the applications of forgiveness and gratitude to the promotion of human welfare. The present article addresses these two areas of research in positive psychology. Specifically, we first review the empirical research on forgiveness, including research on its links to health and well-being, basic research on cognitive and affective factors that encourage or deter forgiveness, and research on the effectiveness of forgiveness interventions. …

The longitudinal association between forgiveness and relationship closeness and commitment

Abstract: This article examines the longitudinal relationship between forgiveness and the restoration of closeness and commitment in relationships that have been damaged by transgressive behavior. Participants were 201 university students who had recently incurred painful interpersonal transgressions. The revenge and benevolence dimensions of forgiveness appeared to facilitate later closeness and commitment, whereas the avoidance dimension of forgiveness appeared to have a reciprocal causal relationship with closeness and commitment. Ramifications for the association between forgiveness and reconciliation are discussed.

Is gratitude an alternative to materialism

Abstract: Materialistic strivings have been implicated as a cause of unhappiness. Gratitude, on the other hand – both in its manifestations as a chronic affective trait and as a more temporary emotional experience – may be a cause of happiness. In the present paper we review the empirical research on the relationships among materialism, gratitude, and well-being. We present new correlational data on the gratitude–materialism relationship and propose that gratitude may have the potential to reduce materialistic strivings and consequently diminish the negative effects of materialistic strivings on psychological well-being. We conclude with some recommendations for future research on the relationships among gratitude, materialism, and well-being.

Modeling the Effects of Spirituality/Religion on Patients' Perceptions of Living with HIV/AIDS

Abstract: Background Spirituality/religion is an important factor in health and illness, but more work is needed to determine its link to quality of life in patients with HIV/AIDS.

Change and Stability During the Third Age Longitudinal Investigations of Self-Rated Health and Religiousness with the Terman Sample 1

Abstract: One can conceptualize the Third Age variously as a distinct age range (nominally, ages 65–79 years), a discrete developmental stage (i.e., the temporal nexus of a variety of interesting developmental challenges and opportunities), or the years following the occurrence of a distinct developmental event (i.e., reduced or terminated engagement in the world of paid work). When one asks questions about how a distinct age, a distinct stage, or a distinct developmental event influences people’s characteristics—their personality, their