提高人际关系最有效成本最低的方法

Simply saying "thank you" may benefit both the recipient and the person who express gratitude, according to the results of studies conducted by researchers at Florida State University in Tallahassee.

The studies, published in the latest issue of Psychological Science, found that saying "thank you" strengthens relationships by causing the person expressing thanks to feel more responsible for the recipient's welfare.

To understand how expressing gratitude helps strengthen relationships, the researchers conducted three different studies.

In one study, 137 college students completed a survey regarding how often they expressed gratitude to a friend or partner. Results showed that gratitude was positively linked with the person's perception of the "communal" strength.

In another study involving 218 college students, expressing gratitude found the expresser's perception of the relationship's strength over time was boosted.

In the third study, 75 men and women were randomly assigned to one of four groups. Over a three-week period, one group expressed gratitude to a friend; another thought grateful thoughts about a friend, while a third thought about daily activities and a fourth had positive interactions with a friend.

Those who expressed gratitude reported stronger relationships at the end of study than those in the other groups.

Gratitude, when expressed, boosted communal strength, according to the study's lead author, Nathaniel Lambert, a research associate at the University.

He said the findings make sense because "when you express gratitude to someone, you are focusing on the good things that person has done for you," he said. "It makes you see them in a more positive light and helps you to focus on their good traits."

Lambert said his research team tested the idea that: "The person doing the thanking comes to perceive the relationship as more communal, to see the person as more worthwhile to make a sacrifice for, to go the extra mile to help out".

Although the studies only looked at the people expressing gratitude, Lambert speculated that, "those who are being thanked will often feel an urge to reciprocate. They will want to express their gratitude back. It can become kind of an upward spiral."

    美国塔拉哈西佛罗里达州立大学的研究人员开展的一系列研究表明，简单的一声“谢谢”对致谢人和被感谢的人都有好处。

    这些在最新一期《心理科学》上发表的研究发现，说“谢谢”能让表达感谢的人觉得自己考虑到了对方的感受，进而能够增进人际关系。

    为了弄清表达感谢究竟是如何促进人际关系的问题，研究人员开展了三项不同的研究。

    在一项研究中，研究人员对137名大学生开展了一项关于他们对朋友或情侣表达感谢的频率的调查。结果显示，说“谢谢”能让致谢人更进一步地看待相互间的关系。