Effects of gratitude and indebtedness on positive and negative affect

Growing societal attention to mental health and well-being has sparked increased interest in gratitude practices. The present study examined the affective consequences of inducing gratitude and indebtedness in comparison to a control condition. A sample of 198 university students was randomly assigned to one of three writing tasks designed to elicit gratitude, indebtedness, or free expression (control). Results showed that participants in the indebtedness condition reported significantly lower positive affect and higher negative affect than those in the gratitude and control conditions. In contrast, gratitude and control participants exhibited similarly favorable affective outcomes, suggesting that expressive writing itself may confer emotional benefits. Dispositional levels of gratitude and indebtedness did not moderate the effects of the state manipulations. These findings provide experimental evidence that indebtedness undermines affective well-being, while gratitude induction does not produce benefits beyond those of general expressive writing. Implications for the design of gratitude-based interventions and the role of control conditions in psychological experiments are discussed.