Dr. Emmons’ research is at the interface of personality psychology, the psychology of emotion and religion. His primary interests are in the psychology of gratitude and the psychology of personal goals, and how each is related to positive psychological processes, including happiness, well-being, and personality integration.
Dr. Emmons is engaged in a long-term research project designed to create and disseminate a large body of novel scientific data on the nature of gratitude, its causes, and its potential consequences for human health and well-being. Through conducting highly focused, cutting-edge studies on the nature of gratitude, its causes, and its consequences, he hopes to shed important scientific light on this important concept. He is focused on two main lines of inquiry at the present time: (1) developing methods to cultivate gratitude in daily life and assess gratitude’s effect on well-being, and (2) developing a measure to reliably assess individual differences in dispositional gratefulness. Dr. Emmons is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Positive Psychology.
Awards and Credentials
- John Templeton Foundation Grant, 2006-2009
- John Templeton Foundation Grant, 2004-2006
- The Institute for Research on Unlimited Love Grant, 2002-2004
- John Templeton Foundation Grant, 1999-2003
Related Links
Recommended Reading List
- The Psychology of Ultimate Concerns. Emmons, R. (2003). Guilford.
- The Psychology of Gratitude. Emmons, R, et al. (2004). Oxford.
- THANKS!: How The New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier. Emmons, R. (2007). Houghton-Mifflin.
