Recognizing Kindness: Both Character- and Action-Based Gratitude Expressions Promote Recipients’ Willingness to Engage in Subsequent Prosocial Behavior

When expressing gratitude, is it better to mention the helper’s kind actions, kind character, or neither? In one large, pre-registered experiment, action-focused and character-focused gratitude expressions significantly increased future prosocial behavior (vs. control). In another survey, participants stated that they appreciate receiving a character- and action-focused expressions of gratitude equally.