The month for heightened gratitude—and the American holiday for which giving thanks is paramount—is upon us. New studies show that cultivating a feeling of gratitude when considering gifts and good fortune has been linked to better health and a general feeling of well being. But what is gratitude? Is gratitude an impulse hardwired in human nature? Is it a virtue or is it a practice? How does gratitude affect everything from the brain and the spirit, to the economy and the culture at large?

To get answers, Insight asked Smith professors from a range of disciplines to consider this question. What follows are their own essays describing how their scholarship informs the concept of gratitude.

Grateful for the Gifts We Are Given

Barry Moser, Irwin and Pauline Alper Glass Professor of Art

It Is Central to the Culture of Science

Gary Felder, Associate Professor of Physics

Feeling Grateful and Acting Grateful Are Two Different Things

Phil Peake, Professor of Psychology

In the World’s Religions, Gratitude Is an Obligation

Carol Zaleski, Professor of World Religions

Say the Word Slowly

Michael Thurston, Professor of English

It Engenders Physiological Changes

Joshua Miller, Associate Dean and Professor, School for Social Work

Also: This month, an exhibition in the Smith Campus Center highlights the power of gratitude in an exhibition on view through November 29. The exhibit, “What Makes You Grateful?” features the work of artist Diana Lyn Cote and a selection of postcards that Anne Kubitsky ’05 has collected from around the globe offering ideas of gratitude.