UC Davis has announced a three-year, $5.6 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation for a project that examines the science of gratitude.

Led by psychology professor Robert Emmons, the project, Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude, will explore gratitude and its role in civil society through the promotion of evidence-based practices in schools, workplaces, homes, and communities. As part of the project, researchers from UC Davis, UC Berkeley, Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, and California State University in Dominguez Hills will work to expand "the scientific database of this key human virtue," said Emmons, "particularly in the areas of health and happiness, social relationships, and developmental psychology."

Emmons, who is editor in chief of The Journal of Positive Psychology and has written three books on the topic, and University of Miami professor Michael E. McCullough previously received a grant from the Templeton Foundation for a study that found people who kept daily gratitude journals lived healthier, happier lives compared with those who didn't.

"One of the most important areas of psychology to emerge in recent years is that of positive psychology, and research and practice into areas such as the influence of gratitude on mental health and brain function," said George R. Mangun, dean of the UC Davis Division of Social Sciences. "We are fortunate at UC Davis to have the leadership of people like professor Emmons, whose work in these areas is of tremendous importance."