Abstract
(type = abstract)
Adler and Fagley (2005) defined the term appreciation as a higher-order construct that includes gratitude, along with seven other aspects, and involves “acknowledging the value and meaning of something—an event, a person, a behavior, an object—and feeling a positive emotional connection to it” (pg. 81). The eight aspects of appreciation are represented in the acronym, “HARPS-GLI”, which highlights each part’s distinctiveness: “Have” Focus, Awe, Ritual, Present Moment, Self/Social Comparison, Gratitude, Loss/ Adversity, and Interpersonal Appreciation. These aspects are represented in the eight subscales of the Appreciation Scale (Adler & Fagley, 2005). The purpose of this study was to test whether the underlying structure of the instrument is consistent with Adler and Fagley’s (2005) model of appreciation derived, in part, from qualitative themes. Undergraduate students completed the 57-item Appreciation Scale (N=365). A confirmatory factor analysis was computed to test the eight component model as well as three other models. These were derived based on empirical relations between factors (Awe and Present Moment) and also based on logical analysis of the concepts, such as noting that some aspects reflect interpersonal versus personal qualities (Fagley, 2016) or conceptual analyses by others (e.g. Lambert et al., 2009; Wood, Maltby, Stewart, & Joseph, 2008b; Lin, 2014). Overall, none of the tested models had acceptable fit to proceed with parameter estimates for the items. Model comparison indices suggest that the four factor model had the best relative fit, which included “Have” Focus, a combined Awe and Present Moment factor, Gratitude, and Interpersonal Appreciation. Continued work is needed to explore possible factor structures as Loss/ Adversity, but not Ritual or Self/Social Comparison, may be another latent variable within the model. Finetuning the appreciation model can advance interventions in the future by providing participants with specific cognitive or behavioral strategies that can be intentionally targeted, such as expressing gratitude to a partner or engaging in mindful awareness of the present moment.