Simply saying "thank you" may benefit both the recipient and the person who express gratitude, according to the results of studies conducted by researchers at Florida State University in Tallahassee. |
Simply saying "thank you" may benefit both the recipient and the person who express gratitude, according to the results of studies conducted by researchers at Florida State University in Tallahassee. The studies, published in the latest issue of Psychological Science, found that saying "thank you" strengthens relationships by causing the person expressing thanks to feel more responsible for the recipient's welfare. To understand how expressing gratitude helps strengthen relationships, the researchers conducted three different studies. In one study, 137 college students completed a survey regarding how often they expressed gratitude to a friend or partner. Results showed that gratitude was positively linked with the person's perception of the "communal" strength. In another study involving 218 college students, expressing gratitude found the expresser's perception of the relationship's strength over time was boosted. In the third study, 75 men and women were randomly assigned to one of four groups. Over a three-week period, one group expressed gratitude to a friend; another thought grateful thoughts about a friend, while a third thought about daily activities and a fourth had positive interactions with a friend. Those who expressed gratitude reported stronger relationships at the end of study than those in the other groups. Gratitude, when expressed, boosted communal strength, according to the study's lead author, Nathaniel Lambert, a research associate at the University. He said the findings make sense because "when you express gratitude to someone, you are focusing on the good things that person has done for you," he said. "It makes you see them in a more positive light and helps you to focus on their good traits." Lambert said his research team tested the idea that: "The person doing the thanking comes to perceive the relationship as more communal, to see the person as more worthwhile to make a sacrifice for, to go the extra mile to help out". Although the studies only looked at the people expressing gratitude, Lambert speculated that, "those who are being thanked will often feel an urge to reciprocate. They will want to express their gratitude back. It can become kind of an upward spiral." (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a multimedia journalist at the China Daily Web site.) (Agencies) |
美國(guó)塔拉哈西佛羅里達(dá)州立大學(xué)的研究人員開展的一系列研究表明,簡(jiǎn)單的一聲“謝謝”對(duì)致謝人和被感謝的人都有好處。 這些在最新一期《心理科學(xué)》上發(fā)表的研究發(fā)現(xiàn),說(shuō)“謝謝”能讓表達(dá)感謝的人覺(jué)得自己考慮到了對(duì)方的感受,進(jìn)而能夠增進(jìn)人際關(guān)系。 為了弄清表達(dá)感謝究竟是如何促進(jìn)人際關(guān)系的問(wèn)題,研究人員開展了三項(xiàng)不同的研究。 在一項(xiàng)研究中,研究人員對(duì)137名大學(xué)生開展了一項(xiàng)關(guān)于他們對(duì)朋友或情侶表達(dá)感謝的頻率的調(diào)查。結(jié)果顯示,說(shuō)“謝謝”能讓致謝人更進(jìn)一步地看待相互間的關(guān)系。 在另一項(xiàng)對(duì)218名大學(xué)生開展的研究中,表達(dá)感謝讓致謝人感到雙方的關(guān)系更“鐵”了。 在第三項(xiàng)研究中,研究人員將75名男性和女性隨機(jī)分為四個(gè)小組。在三個(gè)星期的時(shí)間內(nèi),一個(gè)小組向朋友表達(dá)感謝,另一個(gè)小組對(duì)朋友心懷感激,第三個(gè)小組只考慮日?;顒?dòng),第四個(gè)小組與朋友進(jìn)行積極互動(dòng)。 在研究結(jié)束時(shí),說(shuō)“謝謝”小組相比于其它小組而言,成員之間的關(guān)系更為牢固。 研究報(bào)告主要撰寫人、佛羅里達(dá)州立大學(xué)的研究員納撒尼爾?蘭伯特說(shuō),表達(dá)感激能增進(jìn)人與人之間的關(guān)系。 他說(shuō),這些發(fā)現(xiàn)很有道理,因?yàn)椤爱?dāng)你表達(dá)對(duì)某人的感激之情時(shí),你會(huì)注重這個(gè)人為你所做的好事。這讓你從一個(gè)更為積極的角度來(lái)看待他們,讓你更多關(guān)注他們的好品質(zhì)。” 蘭伯特說(shuō),他的研究小組證明了這一觀點(diǎn):“表達(dá)感謝的人會(huì)更一步看待兩人間的關(guān)系,認(rèn)為值得為對(duì)方做出犧牲,值得對(duì)其鼎力相助?!?/p> 盡管這些研究只分析了那些表達(dá)感激的人,但蘭伯特分析稱,“那些受到感謝的人通常會(huì)產(chǎn)生回報(bào)的想法。他們也會(huì)想向?qū)Ψ奖磉_(dá)感激,從而形成一種良性循環(huán)?!?/p> 相關(guān)閱讀 (中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津 陳丹妮 編輯蔡姍姍) |
Vocabulary: go the extra mile: 多付出代價(jià);多努力一點(diǎn) reciprocate: to behave or feel towards somebody in the same way as they behave or feel towards you 回報(bào);回應(yīng) |