Wang Rong, Zhou Jingyi, Zhang Yang, Gu Xiaodan, Zeng Xianglong
Department of Business Administration, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Hong Kong, P. R. China.
College of Management, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, P. R. China.
Int J Psychol. 2025 Apr;60(2):e70010. doi: 10.1002/ijop.70010.
Appreciative joy is one of four immeasurables emphasised in Buddhism. There are similarities and differences between appreciative joy and gratitude, but their combined roles in improving subjective well-being (SWB) are still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between appreciative joy and gratitude and their contribution to SWB. Study 1 utilised a cross-sectional survey to evaluate the relationships among appreciative joy, gratitude, and SWB. Study 2 used a randomised controlled trial to explore the effects of a four-week appreciative joy meditation (AJM) training and the underlying mechanisms. The results of Study 1 indicated a moderate positive correlation between appreciative joy and gratitude, and gratitude partially mediated the appreciative joy-SWB relationship. Study 2 further supported the idea that AJM training could increase appreciative joy and gratitude at the one-month follow-up. Furthermore, changes in gratitude caused by the intervention were mediated by appreciative joy. However, since SWB significantly improved at post-measures, we cannot conclude that appreciative joy and gratitude mediated the intervention effect on SWB. Our findings expand the underlying mechanisms of appreciative joy beyond interpersonal domains and highlight the importance of gratitude in understanding the effects of the Buddhist four immeasurable meditations.
随喜是佛教所强调的四无量心之一。随喜与感恩之间既有相似之处，也有不同之处，但它们在提升主观幸福感（SWB）方面的综合作用仍不明确。本研究旨在调查随喜与感恩之间的关系及其对主观幸福感的贡献。研究1采用横断面调查来评估随喜、感恩与主观幸福感之间的关系。研究2使用随机对照试验来探究为期四周的随喜禅修（AJM）训练的效果及其潜在机制。研究1的结果表明随喜与感恩之间存在中度正相关，且感恩部分介导了随喜与主观幸福感之间的关系。研究2进一步支持了这样的观点，即在为期一个月的随访中，随喜禅修训练可以增加随喜和感恩之情。此外，干预引起的感恩之情的变化是由随喜介导的。然而，由于在测量后主观幸福感显著提高，我们不能得出随喜和感恩介导了干预对主观幸福感的影响这一结论。我们的研究结果扩展了随喜在人际领域之外的潜在机制，并突出了感恩在理解佛教四无量心禅修效果方面的重要性。
