Longitudinal Effect of Gratitude on Prosocial Behavior among Young Adults: Evidence from the Bi-factor Model of Gratitude

Prior research has revealed the relationship between gratitude and prosocial behavior, but less is known about the predictive effects of cognitive and affective aspects of gratitude on prosocial behavior. The objective of this study was to explore the cross-sectional and longitudinal effects of affective gratitude and cognitive gratitude on prosocial behavior applying the bi-factor model. Study 1 employed a cross-sectional approach including measurements of affective gratitude, cognitive gratitude and prosocial behavior in a sample of 329 participants (294 females, Mage = 20.02, SDage = 2.38) and revealed that general gratitude but not affective gratitude or cognitive gratitude positively predicted prosocial behavior even after controlling for relevant demographic variables. In study 2, a total of 237 college students (213 females, Mage = 20.43, SDage = 2.12) participated in a two-wave longitudinal study and the results showed the same pattern that only general gratitude, neither affective gratitude nor cognitive gratitude, independently predicted subsequent prosocial behavior over 6 months. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the link between the bi-factor structure of gratitude and prosocial behavior, highlight the essential role of overall tendency to experience gratitude in predicting prosocial behavior, and offer new perspectives in promoting prosocial behavior via gratitude interventions.