Metaphors Subtly Influence Feelings of Gratitude to God

Previous research shows that metaphors in language can subtly influence how individuals think about a wide range of topics. Can these nudges cause individuals to feel more gratitude to God, an experience with established benefits for personal well-being? We present two experimental studies testing whether situational exposure to metaphor influences individuals' appraisals of God's benevolence and state levels of gratitude toward God. Across studies, we found that metaphors for God did increase both, but that these effects were highly conditional on audience characteristics. These studies advance our understanding of cognitive processes underlying gratitude to God and provide new insight on who may likely benefit from interventions designed to increase gratitude to God.