Mark Nelson: First of all, some retroactive congratulations to Dr. Robert Emmons, winner of the inaugural 2015 Dallas Willard Research Center Book Award for his book: Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier” (Houghton-Mifflin, 2007)!
Robbert Emmons: Thank you very much! It was quite the honor for which I was, dare I say, grateful!
MN: A little background for our readers: what is your current position, and how long have you been there?
RE: I am Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of California, Davis. I taught here from 1988-2021. Or, because it sounds more impressive, I tell people that I taught here in 5 different decades!
MN: For people who don’t already know your work, could you summarize your prize-winning book in 1-3 sentences?
RE: It was the first book highlighting the new science of gratitude. My goal was to call attention to the many benefits of grateful living. For too long, gratitude had been ignored in the scientific field of emotion science. It was called the “forgotten factor.” Not anymore.
MN: That book was very warmly received. Were you at all surprised by that?
RE: I was certainly surprised (and humbled) when it won the Dallas Willard award, to be sure!
MN: Your book – and the whole positive psychology movement — seems to have “scratched an itch” that a lot of people have been feeling for a long time. Why do you think that was?
RE: There is a magnetic, almost magical appeal to gratitude that makes it resonate with so many people. It clearly speaks to a need that is deeply entrenched in the human condition—the need to give thanks. In that sense, we are hungry to live lives of value, significance, meaning and joy and recognize that it is impossible to achieve all or even any of those things without gratitude. Also, being steeped in a culture of complaint, entitlement, ingratitude, negativity, resentment—we know there is more to life than that. These are emotional cancers that corrode our well-being unless we can find a cure. Gratitude is one cure.
MN: On a personal note: I seem to remember you saying that empirical research showed that even the act of trying to think of things for which to be grateful had measurable, positive psychological effects. Have I got that right? I hope so because I found that really heartening & reassuring. Please tell me that this is still borne out by the empirical evidence!
RE: Absolutely. Intentionally setting aside time on a regular basis to recall the ways in which we are supported and sustained by others has the potential to interweave and thread together a sustainable life theme of highly cherished personal meaning just as it nourishes a fundamentally positive life stance. If we have learned one thing about gratitude (and we have learned a lot!), it is that there is no flourishing without it. Gratitude is essential for growing a center of calmness, contentment, and confidence, an unshakeable core of happiness, strength, and peace.
MN: A quick look at your CV tells us that you have remained very busy. What are you working on these days? Are you still writing about positive psychology in general and gratitude in particular?
RE: I am working on my next gratitude book. I’m excited about it. The thrust of the book is that gratitude = identity. It is much more than an emotion, attitude, or action. Gratitude is who we are! I think it will be my best book yet, but it’s not yet written!
Also, I am busy serving as a cheerleader for others in the next generations of scientists in the field. I am a Trustee for the Templeton World Charity Foundation, and we fund research on factors that facilitate human flourishing. This of course includes gratitude! I continue to edit The Journal of Positive Psychology, the flagship journal for the science and practice of human flourishing. We receive over 700 manuscripts a year. That keeps me busy.
MN: Have you noticed any changes or developments in this field over the last ten years or so? If so, could you tell us about them in a sentence or two? What do you regard as important but still unanswered questions in your field?
RE: We are moving into the third identifiable wave in the science of gratitude. The first two waves were primarily concerned with basic discovery science of the benefits of gratitude and the application of gratitude technologies into various settings and sectors. Now, we are seeing efforts directed toward a deeper analysis of the basic structure of gratitude and the broader role that it plays in human social affairs. Considering the many challenges facing our world today, gratitude should be regarded as an urgent public health need. We really cannot understand ourselves or life itself unless we grasp more clearly the central force that gratitude is. It is that fundamental, that foundational to the future flourishing of humanity. My friend Steve Foran has said that gratitude and gratitude alone will not solve the world’s problems. But it’s doubtful we can solve any significant problem without it.
MN: Your award was from the Dallas Willard Research Center, which exists partly to stimulate and recognize scholarly work about the sorts of things that Dallas Willard taught about, such as moral & spiritual formation. Just out curiosity: had you heard of Dallas Willard before you received the award? If so, how?
RE: Not only had I heard of Dallas Willard, I had read all his books and in 2006 we had lunch together. I mentioned I was in the midst of writing a book (the one that I won the award for) and he asked me to send him a copy when it was finished. Then he wound up blurbing for it! I cherished our meeting.
MN: OK, so you have encountered Dallas and his ideas before and after writing your book. Do you see any connection between his ideas and yours?
RE: When I was having lunch with Dallas in 2006, I asked him why gratitude was not in his pantheon of spiritual disciplines, or where it fit in, or something like that. He looked at me very thoughtfully and responded, “Celebration. Gratitude is about celebration.” Facts! Indeed, I define gratitude as a celebration of the good in the form of undeserved kindness. It is living in the vital awareness of the good that has been done for us, day in and day out.
MN: What’s something that you are grateful for, every day?
RE: Every day I have to remind myself to be grateful, because every day I forget. Gratitude does not always come easily or naturally. It is especially easy to overlook those who are making our lives safer and more secure—law enforcement, health care providers, first responders, the military, air traffic controllers, etc. People doing the gritty and necessary and often thankless jobs.
MN: Just so you know we’ve been paying attention: allow me to express our gratitude to you for your work and for taking the time to talk with us today!
RE: Thank you and the pleasure is mine!