Concept Note
The development of gratitude in children is a gradual and socially embedded process that integrates moral virtue, prosocial behaviour, and emotional understanding. While gratitude may begin as a reactive sentiment expressed in response to received kindness, its mature form involves recognizing a benefactor’s good intentions and experiencing a desire to reciprocate meaningfully.
Research indicates that early cognitive capacities, such as mental state understanding and emotion identification, serve as precursors to gratitude, with young children first expressing simple pleasure before conceptualizing gratitude as a moral emotion. As children move into middle childhood, they increasingly understand gratitude in more abstract terms and recognize a wider range of situations in which it may be expressed. Importantly, the cultivation of gratitude does not occur in isolation; it is shaped through proximal processes in daily interactions with parents, teachers, peers, and the broader cultural context. Supportive socialization practices, rather than controlling ones, foster empathy, prosociality, and the internalization of gratitude as a virtue, underscoring that grateful communities begin with environments that model, encourage, and reciprocate benevolence.
On an individual level, gratitude has been consistently linked to numerous benefits for mental and physical health, contributing significantly to overall well-being and positive psychology. It further plays a crucial role in the relational sphere. Gratitude, as a personal strength and collective virtue, lies at the heart of the development and sustenance of social relationships. In the ever-shifting landscape inhabited by us that is shaped by advancing technology, globalisation, climate change, social inequalities, political polarisation, forced migration, rapid urbanisation, and the evolving influence of media and artificial intelligence, cultivating gratitude becomes a vital counterbalance. It serves to foster a sense of connectedness across individuals, families, schools, and communities, acting as a powerful mechanism for positive child socialization and human development.
Research across psychology, education, anthropology, clinical practice, and climatology has increasingly explored gratitude not only as an individual disposition but as a cultural practice, a therapeutic tool, an evolutionary adaptation, and a bridge for intergenerational and intercultural dialogue. Despite this growing body of research, limited systematic and sustained efforts have been made to integrate gratitude into practice across various contexts, particularly concerning its developmental trajectory and application in early life.
The Global Conference on Developing Grateful Communities 2026 aims to bring together scholars, educators, practitioners, developmental psychologists, clinicians, anthropologists, climatologists, policymakers, and community leaders from around the world to address this gap.
Objectives
Share and Advance Research, Interventions, and Practices Focused on the Developmental Role of Gratitude - to highlight studies, interventions, and best practices that specifically foster gratitude and well-being, with a particular emphasis on child development, family dynamics, and socialization processes within schools and communities.
Promote a Holistic Learning Experience Around Gratitude within the Context of Positive Psychology - to explore gratitude as a key mechanism for building positive character strengths and contributing to the larger field of positive psychology, offering a well-rounded and actionable learning experience.
Build a Global Network Focused on Developmental Well-being and Positive Values - to establish a committed group of professionals dedicated to integrating gratitude and other positive values into developmental, educational, and community settings to foster resilient, grateful communities
1. Developmental Trajectories and Socialisation of Gratitude. This theme examines the dynamic process by which gratitude emerges, changes, and is nurtured from infancy through adulthood. It explores the role of parents, peers, and family relationships in positive emotional socialisation and the development of grateful cognition, language, and emotional pathways.
Cognitive, linguistic, affective, and social pathways of development
Influence of Positive Childhood Experiences
Dynamics of Family and Peer Relationships
Parenting and Positive Emotion Socialisation.
Development of Gratitude across the lifespan (op)
2. Gratitude in Education and Community Building. This theme focuses on the practical and institutional applications of gratitude and positive values in creating supportive, ethical, and just social environments. It also examines how gratitude can inform public policies, promote justice, equity, and belongingness, and support restorative justice practices in diverse communities facing conflicts, migration, and rapid social change.
Pedagogical methods to foster prosocial behaviour, empathy and well-being
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) in schools
Educational policies for promoting values, equity, and belongingness
Restorative justice, non-violence, and conflict resolution
Community well-being and Peace-building (Migration, enculturation, and peace-building)
3. Cultural, Environmental, and Global Perspectives on Gratitude. This theme broadens the scope to include the influence of diverse systemic and cultural contexts on the expression and significance of gratitude. In addition, the theme highlights the emerging area of eco-gratitude, focusing on how individuals and communities cultivate gratitude toward nature, the environment, and the climate.
Anthropological and cross-cultural approaches to gratitude
Eco-gratitude: Relationship with nature, environment, and climate
The impact of media and technology on gratitude and well-being
4. Gratitude Practices in Clinical and Counselling Settings. Dedicated to the therapeutic and practical utility of gratitude, this theme explores evidence-based interventions in counselling and clinical settings. It investigates the tangible positive outcomes of gratitude for physical and mental health, well-being, and managing life with disability or special populations.
Health outcomes: Mental health, physical well-being, and resilience
Gratitude within disability studies and special needs populations
Positive Psychology based interventions that foster well-being
5. Gratitude, Positive Psychology, Moral and Character Development. This theme explores gratitude as a foundational component of moral character within the broader framework of Positive Psychology. It brings together perspectives on how grateful dispositions strengthen social connectedness and promote cooperation. By integrating empirical and theoretical work on the development of inner strengths, prosocial motivation, and reflective awareness, the theme highlights gratitude’s role in fostering a flourishing, values-oriented life.
Character strengths and the framework of Positive Psychology
Pro-social behaviors: Altruism, sympathy, guilt and forgiveness
Pathways to flourishing, thriving, and self-gratitude
Mindfulness, compassion, and small acts of kindness in daily life
The phenomenology of grateful experiences: Awe, flow, and reflection
6. Science and Methodology of Gratitude. This theme highlights scientific and methodological advances in the study of gratitude, including efforts to refine its measurement, clarify its underlying mechanisms, and examine how contemporary contexts shape grateful experiences. It brings together interdisciplinary approaches that deepen our understanding of gratitude as a dynamic and empirically grounded construct.
Psychometrics and research methodologies for studying gratitude
Neural correlates of gratitude, morality, and positive affect
The impact of media and technology on gratitude and well-being
Cross-cultural measures of gratitude (op)