Flourishing
Assessment Tool

Gratitude Measure

A simple survey that has been used across hundreds of research papers to distinguish gratitude from indebtedness and map the grateful disposition.

3 minutes
6 Questions

Overview

The Gratitude Adjectives Checklist is a brief, validated measure of trait gratitude—the tendency to recognize and appreciate the good in one's life. This six-item scale has been widely used in gratitude research and helps assess your general predisposition toward appreciation and thankfulness. It distinguishes genuine gratitude from mere indebtedness.

Gratitude is the feeling of appreciation and thankfulness for the good things in life—whether material, interpersonal, or circumstantial. Beyond a polite response to receiving gifts, gratitude is a genuine emotional and psychological state that research consistently links to improved well-being, stronger relationships, better physical health, and greater resilience. The grateful disposition—your natural tendency toward appreciation—can be measured and, importantly, can be cultivated through practice.

What You'll Learn

Quick assessment of your grateful disposition

Distinguish genuine gratitude from mere obligation

Validated measure used in hundreds of research studies

Establish a baseline for gratitude practice

Track growth in appreciation and thankfulness

Take the Assessment

Spend a few moments thinking about the past several days and weeks and what you have been grateful for as well as your general sense of gratitude. When ready, you may answer the questions below. Responses are in the range from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).

1

I have so much in life to be thankful for.

2

If I had to list everything that I felt grateful for, it would be a very long list.

3

When I look at the world, I don't see much to be grateful for.

4

I am grateful to a wide variety of people.

5

As I get older I find myself more able to appreciate the people, events, and situations that have been part of my life history.

6

Long amounts of time can go by before I feel grateful to something or someone.

The Science

This assessment is grounded in rigorous psychological research and has been validated across numerous studies.

Key Research

  • McCullough, M. E., Emmons, R. A., & Tsang, J. A. (2002). The grateful disposition: A conceptual and empirical topography. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(1), 112-127.
  • Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377-389.