Abstract When individuals experience gratitude they receive many benefits, including increased meaning in life, optimism, happiness, and greater connection to others. Multiple theorists and researchers citing the benefits of gratitude have proposed gratitude interventions for couples. However, research on intentionally practicing gratitude in the complex dynamics of intimate relationships remains sparse. This study piloted a two week-long gratitude exercise to explore if intentionally practicing gratitude could improve the quality of intimate relationships with 70 heterosexual couples. APIM models indicated a positive effect between the frequency of gratitude exercises and increased positive emotion, intimacy, and relationship satisfaction for women, but not for men, after accounting for relational satisfaction prior to the exercises. Implications for couples and psychoeducational settings are discussed.

中文翻译：

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夫妻感恩练习

摘要 当个人经历感恩时，他们会获得许多好处，包括生活意义的增加、乐观、幸福以及与他人的联系更加紧密。多位理论家和研究人员引用感恩的好处，提出了对夫妻的感恩干预。然而，关于在亲密关系的复杂动态中有意练习感恩的研究仍然很少。本研究试行了为期两周的感恩练习，以探讨有意练习感恩是否可以改善与 70 对异性恋夫妇的亲密关系质量。APIM 模型表明，在考虑了练习前的关系满意度后，感恩练习的频率与女性的积极情绪、亲密感和关系满意度的增加之间存在积极影响，但男性则不然。