Hope

Definition

A typical dictionary definition of hope suggests that it reflects a goal-related expectation of success. In psychology, a definition that has gained considerable attention basically expands on this dictionary one. More specifically, hope is said to involve goal-directed thinking in which people perceive that they have the [Page 441]capacities to produce the routes to desired goals (called pathways thinking), along with the necessary motivations to use those routes (called agency thinking).

History

The most famous story about hope is the tale of Pandora. Zeus was angry with mortals for having stolen fire from the gods, and, accordingly, he developed a plan to extract revenge against humans. To do this, Zeus created a maiden, Pandora, whom he sent to earth with a dowry jar. Pandora was instructed that, no matter what, she was not to open this jar. Zeus evidently was using reverse psychology here, for he knew that Pandora could not resist taking a peak at what was inside. Indeed, upon coming to earth, Pandora opened the lid. Out poured a plague of negative forces, including colic, rheumatism, and gout for the body, along with envy, spite, and revenge for the mind. Pandora was horrified at what she had done, and she quickly tried to replace the lid. At this point, however, she supposedly noticed that hope was stuck under the lid.

Although mythology is vague on whether hope actually escaped, the usual conclusion is that it did. Moreover, hope has been viewed as being just as evil as the forces that did escape. For example, Sophocles believed that hope only prolonged human suffering. Plato called hope a foolish counselor. Francis Bacon said that hope was a good breakfast but a bad supper. Similarly, Benjamin Franklin cautioned people with the observation, “He who lives on hope will die fasting.” Therefore, much of history has been quite negative about hope. On this latter point, therefore, it should be noted that the Judeo-Christian viewpoint has been in the minority when making hope one of its virtues (along with faith and charity).

It was not until the 1950s that psychologists and mental health professionals (e.g., psychiatrists, nurses) began using scientific approaches for exploring hope. These early scholars generally agreed with the dictionary definition of hope as involving positive expectancies for reaching desired goals. Moving into the 1970s and 1980s, there was yet more interest in hope by psychologists. Of the various theoretical approaches, a model known as hope theory has gained considerable attention. According to hope theory, hope reflects goal-directed thinking in which people believe in their capacities to produce the routes to desired goals (pathways thinking), along with the mental energies or motivations to use those routes (agency thinking). Furthermore, the consensus was that such hope thinking was learned through childhood experiences rather than being a product of genetic inheritance. Finally, as psychology began to pay more attention to human strengths in the 1990s and beyond, hope has been one of the key concepts.

Evidence

There have been two general approaches taken in hope research. A first approach has involved the development of self-report scales and the subsequent study of how the scores on such hope measures were related to other variables. A second approach has entailed attempts to teach people how to become more hopeful, along with any benefits that may accompany such increases in hopeful thinking. These lines of research will be explained briefly in this section.

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