Impacts of Expressed Gratitude and Apologies on Japanese University Students’ and Workers’ Perceived Closeness: Mediating Roles of Responsiveness and Predicted Outcome Values

Literature on expressed gratitude and apologies has predominantly focused on their effects within the realm of interpersonal relationships. However, it is crucial to extend the examination of these communication styles to work settings, where interpersonal dynamics significantly impact productivity. To address this, two experiments were conducted to compare the impacts of expressed gratitude and apologies among Japanese university students and company employees. The initial experiment, involving university students (n = 139), revealed that expressed gratitude heightened responsiveness and predicted outcome values in comparison to messages lacking either gratitude or apologies. The subsequent experiment, encompassing company employees (n = 499), unveiled that the effects of messages varied based on the relative statuses of the message sender.