An Emotion That Can Motivate Others To Help You

For those of you looking to get a little more help from the people in your life, I’ve got a study for you!

Expressing gratitude, simply in the form of saying, “thank you” can motivate people to help you, even after they have already lent you a hand.

In a study by Grant and Gino (2010), in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers found that people were 66% more likely to help with completing a second task, after initially being thanked for providing help with an initial task (in the study, the task involved providing feedback on a cover letter).

So, why were people more likely to help after a simple “thank you”?

Two words – Social Worth.  People appreciated being needed and felt more valued after receiving thanks.

Take Home Message

Saying, “thank you” isn’t as simple and trite as asking about the weather. Rather, a simple, genuine “thank you” can help you get things done!