Hope and Development of Hope

• Hope, a construct closely related to optimism, has been

conceptualized by Professor Rick Snyder (2000).
• Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an
expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and
circumstances in one's life
• According to this conceptualization, hope is strongest when it
entails valued goals in challenging circumstances.
• Where we are certain of achieving our goals, hope is
unnecessary.
• Where we are certain that we will not, then we become
hopeless.
• Positive and negative emotions are by-products of goal-
directed hopeful or hopeless thought.
• The Adult Dispositional Hope Scale and State Hope Scale are
brief trait-and-state self-report measures of hope.
 What is Hope?

• According to Snyder et al. (1991) hope is a positive cognitive

state based on a sense of successful goal-directed
determination and planning to meet these goals. In other
words, hope is like a snap-shot of a person’s current goal-
directed thinking, highlighting the motivated pursuit of goals
and the expectation that those goals can be achieved.
• While some approaches conceptualize hope in the realm
of being, that is acknowledging hope during illness and within
care; Snyder et al (1991) emphasized the relevance of hope in
the context of doing – that is the capacity to achieve goals.
Snyder, Irving & Anderson define hope as

“a positive motivational state that is based

on an interactively derived sense of successful
(a) agency (goal-directed energy) and
(b) pathways (planning to meet goals)”.
 Hope Defined
“the belief that the future will be better than the
present, along with the belief that you have the power
to make it so.”

“…not only is hope good for your wellbeing, but it’s a

measurable quality that can be increased with practice”

“…the ability to clearly and consistently articulate

goals (goals thinking), develop step-by-step plans
to reach those goals (pathways thinking), and
persevere in spite of obstacles (agency thinking).”
(Lopez, et al., 2009)
• Snyder (2000) suggests that hope develops in a clearly
defined way over the course of infancy, childhood and
adolescence.

• By the end of the first year of life, object constancy

and cause-and-effect schemas allow infants to have
thoughts about pathways to goals.

• In the second year, infants learn that they can initiate

goal-directed activities to follow pathways to desired
goals.

• The process of encountering barriers, planning ways

around them, and then actively executing these plans
is central to the genesis of hope.
• Pre-school period from 3 to 6 years, the rapid
development of language and Physical
development allows for the growth of
sophisticated skills for putting plans into
action.
• Hope is not a brand new concept in
psychology.
• In 1991, the eminent positive
psychologist Charles R. Snyder and his
colleagues came up with Hope Theory.
• According to their theory, hope consists
of agency (an individual’s capacity to control
his/her own goals, actions and
destiny) and pathways.
• The person who has hope has the will and
determination that goals will be achieved, and
a set of different strategies at their disposal to
reach their goals.

Hope involves the will to get there, and

different ways to get there.
Hope allows people to approach problems with
a mindset and strategy-set suitable to success,
thereby increasing the chances they will
actually accomplish their goals.

Hope is not just a feel-good emotion, but

a dynamic cognitive motivational system.
• Under this conceptualization of hope,
emotions follow cognitions, not the other way
round.
• Hope-related cognitions are important.
• Hope leads to learning goals (focus on
acquiring knowlegde and skill), which are
conducive to growth and improvement.
• Those lacking hope, on the other hand, tend
to adopt mastery goals (focus on easy tasks).

When they fail, they quit.

• They have no hope.

• People with mastery goals choose easy tasks
that don’t offer a challenge or opportunity for
growth.
• People with mastery goals act helpless, and
feel a lack of control over their environment.
• They don’t believe in their capacity to obtain
the kind of future they want.
According to Snyder’s Hope Theory (Snyder, 1991),
hopefulness is a life-sustaining human strength
comprised of three distinct but related components:
1. Goals Thinking – the clear conceptualization of
valuable goals.
2. Pathways Thinking – the capacity to develop specific
strategies to reach those goals.
3. Agency Thinking – the ability to initiate and sustain
the motivation for using those strategies.
Hope Theory
Hope theory is different from global – romantic wishful thinking. The scientific
construct of hope is complex and challenging, creative and sometimes
dangerous – making the individual more vulnerable through nurturing
unreachable hopes (Snyder, Lopez et al. 2003). Hoping can be deeply
personal, or interpersonal – requiring the assistance of others, and
demanding reaching out for help. It may be nurtured in different social
contexts – such as school or family that may serve as protective factors.
Hope enables children to set valued goals, to see the means to achieve
those goals, and to find the drive to make those goals happen ((Snyder
2002).
 Hope theory
• Hope has been defined by Snyder (2002) as a learned
thinking pattern, a set of beliefs and thoughts,
involving two relatively distinct ways of thinking
about a goal:
1. Agentic thinking involves thought related to one’s
successful determination about reaching goals
(e.g., “I meet the goals that I set for myself”).
1. Pathways thinking involves thoughts about one’s
effective abilities to pursue different means of
obtaining goals
(“I can think of many ways to get what I want”).
Hope is also one’s belief in the ability to pursue
goals.
• To engage in such thinking it is necessary to
first establish goals.
• Second, hopeful thinking requires approaching
with effective pathways for reaching the
desired goals.
• Third, we need the motivation to use the
pathways that will bring us the goals.
Hope theory can be subdivided into four categories:

1. Goals that are valuable and uncertain are described by

Snyder (1994, as cited in Snyder, 2000, p.9) as the anchors of
hope theory as they provide direction and an endpoint for
hopeful thinking.
2. Pathway thoughts refer to the routes we take to achieve our
desired goals and the individual’s perceived ability to
produce these routes (Snyder, 2000).
3. Agency thoughts refer to the motivation we have to
undertake the routes towards our goals.
4. Barriers block the attainment of our goals and in the event
of a barrier we can either give up or we can use our pathway
thoughts to create new routes.
GOALS:

Goals are the targets of mental action

sequences, and they provide the cognitive
component that anchors hope theory
Goals may be short- or long-term, but they
need to be of sufficient value to occupy
conscious thought.
Likewise, goals must be attainable, but they also
typically contain some degree of uncertainty.
Pathways Thinking:
• This process, which we call pathways thinking,
signifies one’s perceived capabilities at
generating workable routes to desired goals.
• Likewise, we have found that this pathways
thinking is typified by affirming internal
messages.
“I’ll find a way to get this done!”
Agency Thinking:
• The motivational component in hope theory is
agency—the perceived capacity to use one’s pathways
so as to reach desired goals.
• Agentic thinking reflects the self-referential thoughts
about both starting to move along a pathway and
continuing to progress along that pathway.
• It was found that high-hope people embrace such self-
talk agentic phrases as

“I can do this” and “I am not going to be stopped”

-(Snyder et al., 1998).
 20+ Things You Need to
Know About Hope
• Enhancing

1. Hope can be enhanced via formal programming

(instructing to do certain things).

2. Hope can be disseminated.

3. Hope talk can be used to share hope.

4. Students can enhance their hope by making small

changes.
Enhancing Goal Development
GOALS checklist

• √ Be clear that the goal you set is one your really

want.
• √ Become more aware about making decisions
about goals.
• √ Before settling on goals, generate several in
differing areas of your life (e.g., relationships, work,
etc.).
• √ Rank your goals from most to least important.
• √ Settle on two or three most important goals.
• √ Make stretch goals (high effort goals, intentionally
set above normal standard goals to attract more
rewards, opportunities and experience) in those goal
arenas.
• √ Give recognizable markers to important goals.
• √ Put aside enough time for your important goals.
• √ Set up your life so not always interrupted by
outside demands.
Enhancing Pathways Thinking
PATHWAYS checklist

• √ Practice making different routes, and select the best

one.
• √ Rehearse in your mind what you are going to do to
reach goal.
• √ Rehearse what you would do if you ran into an
impediment.
• √ Break a long-range goal into steps or subgoals.
• √ If route doesn’t work, conclude that had wrong
pathway, but don’t blame yourself or assume that you
lack talent.
• √ Recognize if you need a new skill and go get it.
• √ Cultivate two-way friendships where you give and get
advice.
• √ Ask for help.
 Enhancing Agency Thinking
AGENCY checklist
• Avoid too many “How am I doing?” type of questions.
• √ Talk to yourself in positive voices (e.g., ”I can do this!”).
• √ Be able to laugh at yourself.
• √ Find a substitute goal when the original is impossible.
• √ Enjoy the process of getting to your goals.
• √ Attend to “little” things happening around you.
• √ Cut back on caffeine, as well as cigarettes and alcohol.
• √ Consistently get physical exercise.
• √ Rest through nightly - sleeping and daily relaxations.
• √ Recall your previous successes, particularly when stuck.
• Newborns undertake pathways thinking immediately after
birth in order to obtain a sense of “what goes with what”
i.e., what events seem to be correlated in time with each
other.
• Over the course of childhood, these lessons eventually
become refined so that the child understands the process
of causation (i.e., events are not just related in time, but
one event elicits another event).
• Additionally, at approximately 1 year of age, the baby
realizes that she or he is separate from other entities
(including the caregiver). This process, called psychological
birth.
• Hope does not necessarily fade in the face of
adversity; in fact hope often endures despite poverty,
war and famine. While no one is exempt from
experiencing challenging life events, hope fosters an
orientation to life that allows a grounded and
optimistic outlook even in the most challenging of
circumstances.
• In summary, the acquisition of goal-directed hopeful
thought is absolutely crucial for the child’s survival
and thriving.
• As such, parents, caregivers, teachers, and members
of society in general are invested in teaching this
hopeful thinking.
4 Examples of Hope

1. Realistic Hope
• Realistic hope is hope for an outcome that is reasonable or
probable (Wiles, Cott, & Gibson, 2008). In this sense, an
individual suffering from chronic pain might hope for a small
reduction in pain, knowing that complete eradication is
unrealistic.

• According to Eaves, Nichter, & Ritenbaugh (2016) being

realistic is a way of hoping that allows individuals to observe
and understand their situation while still maintaining
openness toward the possibility of positive change.
 2. Utopian Hope

• This way of hoping is a collectively oriented hope

that collaborative action can lead to a better future
for all. According to (Webb, 2013) the utopian hoper
critically negates the present and is driven by hope to
affirm a better alternative. Consider utopian hope
presented by a political movement; a movement that
effectively articulates the hopes of a social group to
expand the horizons of possibility.
 3. Chosen Hope
• Hope not only helps us live with a difficult present but also
with an uncertain future. In addition to physical suffering, a
diagnosis of a serious or terminal illness is a major
contributor to psychiatric syndromes and distress.
Understandably, multiple factors such as grief, fear, and
concerns about loved ones can contribute to experiences
of hopelessness within this population.
• In the palliative care context, for instance, chosen hope is
critical to the management of despair and its
accompanying paralysis of action. Garrard & Wrigley (2009)
suggested that hope for even the most restricted range of
goals within the limits of a life is essential to the regulation
of negative emotions.
 4. Transcendent Hope
According to Eaves (2016), transcendent hope
encompasses three types of hope, namely:
1. Patient Hope – a hope that everything will work out well
in the end.
2. Generalized Hope – hope not directed toward a specific
outcome.
3. Universal Hope – a general belief in the future and a
defense against despair in the face of challenges.
Also referred to as existential hope, transcendent hope
describes a stance of general hopefulness not tied to a
specific outcome or goal; put simply, it is the hope that
something good can happen.
 8 Benefits of Having Hope
1. Hope is significantly correlated with superior academic and
athletic performance, greater physical and psychological well-
being, improved self-esteem, and enhanced interpersonal
relationships (Rand & Cheavens, 2012). Hope correlates positively
with coping with severe burns, arthritis, spinal cord injury, and
blindness. Individuals with high (vs. low) hope remain energized
during the curative process. High hopers also experience less pain
and tolerate pain twice as long as low hopers
2. Hope has the potential to enhance well-being over time. Erez &
Isen (2002) found that individuals who are more hopeful and
expect to be successful in achieving goals are more likely to
experience a state of well-being.
3. Individuals with high hope are more likely to view stressful
situations as challenging rather than threatening, thereby
reducing the intensity and hindering stress development (Lazarus
& Launier, 1978).
4. Hope can be perceived as a protective factor against the
development of chronic anxiety. Michael (2000) found that
hope correlates significantly and negatively with anxiety, while
also protecting against perceptions of vulnerability,
uncontrollability, and unpredictability.
5. Hope is a motivational factor that helps initiate and sustain
action toward long-term goals, including the flexible
management of obstacles that get in the way of goal
attainment. High-hope individuals can conceptualize their
goals clearly; establishing goals based on their own previous
performances.
In this way, hopeful individuals have greater control over how
they will pursue goals and are intrinsically motivated to find
multiple pathways to successful goal attainment (Conti, 2000).
6. Snyder et al. (2002) found that high hope college
students were more likely to graduate than their low
hope counterparts. Their findings indicated that
students with low hope graduated at an overall 40.27%
rate as compared with 56.50% of high-hope students.
Additionally, low hope students were also at greater risk
of being dismissed (25%) relative to their high hope
peers (7.1%).
7. Hope is positively related to overall life satisfaction
(Roesch & Vaughn, 2006).
8. Hope, with its in-built orientation towards the future,
motivates individuals to maintain their positive
involvement in life regardless of any limitations imposed
upon them (Rideout & Montemuro, 1986).
 Hopeful students
• Hopeful students believe that the future will be better than
the present and that they have the power to make it so.
• Hope fuels problem-solving and it helps students to develop
their own strengths.
• Hopeful students…
– are excited about the future
– go to school
– are engaged
– are resilient
– are happy
 Suggestions for Building Hope
• Think about what really excites you
• Invest time in the things that you have a
passion for and the things that you are good
at
• Think about forming strong relationships
around the things that you are interested in
• Create paths and opportunities to spend time
doing what excites you
 Building Hope
Get students thinking about the future!
– Have them go around and take pictures of
Hope.
– Have them think about what a good job and
a happy future will look like.
Hope can be measured!
HOW TRUE OF YOU IS EACH STATEMENT?
1= Definitely False 2= Mostly False 3= Somewhat False 4= Slightly False 5=
Slightly True 6= Somewhat True 7= Mostly True 8= Definitely True

1. I energetically pursue my goals. A

2. I can think of many ways to get out of a jam. P
3. My past experiences have prepared me well for my future. A
4. There are lots of ways around any problem. P
5. I’ve been pretty successful in life. A
6. I can think of many ways to get the things in life that are important to
me. P
7. I meet the goals that I set for myself. A
8. Even when others get discouraged, I know I can find a way to solve the
problem. P
1 + 3 + 5 + 7 = Agency 2 + 4 + 6 + 8 = Pathways
© Noel Strengths Academy