GRATITUDE AS A MEDIATOR FOR RELIGIOSITY, SPIRITUALITY AND PROSOCIALITY.

Abstract

This study is the first to explore associations between spirituality, intrinsic religiosity, extrinsic religiosity, gratitude and prosociality in Singapore, a multi-religious society. A hypothesized model with gratitude mediating the link between spirituality, religiosity and prosocial outcomes was explored. However, results indicate that this mediation model was not significant. On the other hand, results show significant bivariate correlations between spirituality, intrinsic religiosity and extrinsic religiosity with gratitude, as well as with prosociality. Furthermore, regression analyses reveal that spirituality significantly predicted gratitude (β = 0.63, p < 0.001) over and above intrinsic religiosity and extrinsic religiosity, and that extrinsic religiosity significantly predicted prosociality (β = -0.21, p = 0.0044) over and above intrinsic religiosity and spirituality. This study has added new insights to the gratitude-prosociality link, in that gratitude may not always be correlated with prosociality, as revealed through the non-significant findings for the hypothesized model. This study also lends support for the extrinsic and intrinsic distinction in religiosity. Further research on the mechanisms of gratitude is needed to understand how it relates to spirituality, religiosity, and prosociality.