Resumen

FREITAS, Lia Beatriz de Lucca; PIETA, Maria Adélia Minghelli  y  TUDGE, Jonathan Richard Henry. Beyond politeness: the expression of gratitude in children and adolescents. Psicol. Reflex. Crit. [online]. 2011, vol.24, n.4, pp. 757-764. ISSN 0102-7972.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-79722011000400016.

We present results from a study about the expression of gratitude in children and adolescents. Four hundred and thirty children, aged 7 to 14 years old (58% female), answered the questions: "What is your greatest wish?" and "What would you do for the person who granted you this wish?" The responses to the second question were content-analyzed and coded into four types of gratitude: verbal, concrete, connective and finalistic. Subsequently we conducted a quantitative analysis regarding age by each type of response. The results show a decline in the frequency of concrete gratitude and an increase in connective gratitude as respondents' age increases. The results - discussed with reference to the current literature - suggest questions for new research.

Palabras llave : Gratitude; Development; Children; Adolescents.