There is bountiful evidence for positive roles of gratitude emotion, yet there is no leading theory in positive psychology that explains why others’ kindness induces recipients to exhibit different types of social behavior such as “returning kindness with kindness” (e.g., altruistic behavior) or “biting the hand that feeds one” (e.g., deviant behavior). We propose a new construct of gratitude mindset and explore its paradoxical impact on social behaviors. Study 1 tests the conceptual network of gratitude mindset and its unique predictive power to altruistic and deviant behavior. Study 2 employs an experiment to verify the distinct effect of gratitude mindset on altruistic and deviant behavior. Based on a three-wave survey, Study 3 shows that a gratitude-is-enhancing mindset (GIEM) increases altruistic behavior and reduces deviant behavior via moral imagination, whereas a gratitude-is-inhibiting mindset (GIIM) increases deviant behavior and reduces altruistic behavior via moral disengagement. These results highlight that gratitude mindset is not only a distinct and significant variable in fueling social behaviors but also contributes to theory, practice, and future research.

Yang Wenya is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Education at Beijing Institute of Technology, China. Her research explores the theories, methodologies, and applications of positive psychology, with a focus on empirical findings. Her work aims to enhance prosocial behaviors and promote creativity through evidence-based research.