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A preregistered meta-analysis synthesized data from 145 papers, 163 samples, 727 effect sizes, and 24,804 participants in 28 countries. Results showed small overall improvements in well-being (Hedges’ g = 0.19, 95% CI [0.15, 0.22]), with significant between-country differences. Cross-cultural variability was not explained by simple moderators, while methodological features such as outcome type, intervention types, and randomization mattered.",{"@graph":69,"@context":126},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/a-meta-analysis-of-the-effectiveness-of-gratitude-interventions-on-well-being-across-cultures/447753/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/a-meta-analysis-of-the-effectiveness-of-gratitude-interventions-on-well-being-across-cultures/447753.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Logic","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-04","2026-09-29",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":81},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118,122],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is the overall effect of gratitude interventions on well-being across cultures?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Across 28 countries, gratitude interventions produced small overall increases in well-being (Hedges’ g = 0.19, 95% CI [0.15, 0.22]).","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Did the study find differences in effectiveness between countries?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Yes. Moderation analyses showed significant between-country differences in the effects of gratitude interventions.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Which methodological characteristics increased the effectiveness of gratitude interventions?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The effects were greater when outcomes were measured as positive affect, when multiple gratitude intervention types were combined, and when randomized controlled trials were employed.",{"name":123,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":124},"Were cultural moderators that explain cross-cultural variability identified?",{"text":125,"@type":113},"No. The analysis found no significant evidence of moderators explaining the cross-cultural variability, indicating a need for more primary research.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":128,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":130,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":132,"site_id":62},447753,1790790836,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":135},{"doc_id":132,"user_id":136,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":137,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":138,"file_id":139,"file_url":140,"file_type":141,"file_size":142,"view_count":81,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":143,"language":144,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":145,"faqs":146,"seo_title":147,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":148,"read_time":41},1099513958762,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/1000023916a998db790?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1784791008015729253","RESEARCH ARTICLE  \nPSYCHOLOGICAL AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES  \nA meta-analysis of the effectiveness of gratitude interventionson well-being across cultures  \nHyewon Choia,1, Youngjae Chab, Michael E. McCulloughc , Nicholas A. Colesd , and Shigehiro Oishib Affiliations are included on p. 11.  \nEdited by Susan Fiske, Princeton University, Jamaica, VT; received December 2, 2024; accepted June 9, 2025  \nGratitude practice is a popular strategy for promoting happiness worldwide. However, is it equally effective for people from different cultural backgrounds? To answer this question, we conducted a preregistered meta-analysis on the effectiveness of gratitude interventions on well-being across cultures. Using data from 145 papers, 163 samples, 727 effect sizes, and 24,804 participants from 28 countries, we found that gratitude interventions led to small overall increases in well-being, Hedges’ g = 0.19, 95% CI [0.15, 0.22]. Moderation analyses revealed significant between-country differences in the effects of gratitude interventions. However, we found no significant evidence of moderators explaining such cross-cultural variability, highlighting the need for more primary research in this domain. Subsequent analyses indicated that three methodological characteristics moderated the effects: well-being outcomes, intervention types, and randomization. The effectiveness of gratitude interventions was greater when well-being outcomes were measured as positive affect, when multiple types of gratitude interventions were combined, and when randomized controlled trials were employed. Overall, the results appeared to be robust against publication bias and the presence of influential cases. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of gratitude interventions on well-being across cultural contexts and methodological characteristics.  \ngratitude intervention | well-being | happiness | culture | meta-analysis  \nLeading a happy life is considered one of the most important goals (1) and ideals (2) to most people around the world. People strive to move closer to such a goal or ideal and use various strategies to promote their happiness. Gratitude practice is one of the most popular happiness-promoting strategies recommended by both laypeople and the mainstream media (3). Gratitude practices involve activities such as keeping a gratitude journal and writing gratitude letters. Although these practices have roots in many of the world’s religious, philosophical, and cultural traditions (4), empirical research on the effectiveness of gratitude in promoting happiness originates from Emmons and McCullough (5) and Seligman et al. (6). In these seminal studies, the authors implemented gratitude interventions aimed at focusing on the positive aspects of life or on writing a letter to and then visiting someone to whom one felt grateful, and found that the interventions generally improved well-being. Since then, numerous studies on gratitude interventions have been published.  \nAs research on gratitude interventions has surged, several meta-analytic reviews have been published over the past decade (7–11). These meta-analyses have indicated positive effects of gratitude interventions on well-being. For example, one meta-analysis included five studies comparing gratitude interventions with measurement-only control conditions and 20 studies comparing them with alternative-activity conditions (8) . Results indicated that gratitude interventions had a small effect on life satisfaction and depression (Cohen’sd = 0.31 in the measurement-only comparison and d = 0.17 in the alternative-activity comparison) . Another meta-analysis analyzed 38 studies and found weighted Cohen’s ds of the gratitude intervention relative to the neutral condition at the postintervention as follows: 0.17 for life satisfaction (k = 19), 0.18 for positive affect (k = 19), 0.25 for happiness (k = 9), 0.30 for well-being (k = 3), 0.13 for depression (k = 9), and 0.05 for n","cbCaiuJANfJbXABE","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiuJANfJbXABE","pdf",1416874,12,"English","# Significance\n# Author contributions\n# Declarations and publication notes","[{\"question\":\"What is the overall effect of gratitude interventions on well-being across cultures?\",\"answer\":\"Across 28 countries, gratitude interventions produced small overall increases in well-being (Hedges’ g = 0.19, 95% CI [0.15, 0.22]).\"},{\"question\":\"Did the study find differences in effectiveness between countries?\",\"answer\":\"Yes. Moderation analyses showed significant between-country differences in the effects of gratitude interventions.\"},{\"question\":\"Which methodological characteristics increased the effectiveness of gratitude interventions?\",\"answer\":\"The effects were greater when outcomes were measured as positive affect, when multiple gratitude intervention types were combined, and when randomized controlled trials were employed.\"},{\"question\":\"Were cultural moderators that explain cross-cultural variability identified?\",\"answer\":\"No. The analysis found no significant evidence of moderators explaining the cross-cultural variability, indicating a need for more primary research.\"}]","A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of gratitude interventions on well-being across cultures | PDF",1790722702]