ABSTRACT
The most common and perhaps least controversial understanding of gratitude is as a positive response of appreciation on the part of a beneficiary for some gift, favour or benefit from a well-meaning benefactor (Berger, 1975; McConnell, 1993; McCullough et al., 2001; Roberts, 2003, 2004; Carr, 2013; Gulliford et al., 2013). Although this account may be narrowed or broadened to cover thanks for benefits not well intentioned or indeed intended at all, gratitude is nevertheless more usually construed in some such relational terms. Again, while gratitude may be even more widely expressed for any and all good things that may come one’s way – as when people say “I’m grateful that it didn’t rain today” or “thank goodness I missed the bus that crashed” – this seems to be a looser or more imprecise use of the term (variously called “dyadic”, “propositional” or “untargeted” gratitude; see, for example, McAleer, 2013) that fails to distinguish it from other responses such as appreciation (see Adler and Fagley, 2005; Fagley,2012; this volume; Fagley and Adler, 2012), gladness (that it didn’t rain) or relief (that I missed the crashing plane).
