Positive Psychology - Sem 6 Assignment
Positive Psychology - Sem 6 Assignment
Positive Psychology - Sem 6 Assignment
Professor of Psychology Barbara Fredrickson argues that hope comes into its own when crisis
looms, opening us to new creative possibilities. Frederickson argues that with great need comes
an unusually wide range of ideas, as well as such positive emotions as happiness and joy,
courage, and empowerment, drawn from four different areas of one's self: from a cognitive,
psychological, social, or physical perspective. Hopeful people are "like the little engine that
could, [because] they keep telling themselves "I think I can, I think I can".positive thinking bears
fruit when based on a realistic sense of optimism, not on a naive "false 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 palliative care; Snyder et al (1991) emphasized the relevance of hope in
the context of doing – that is the capacity to achieve goals.
According to Snyder’s Hope Theory (Snyder, 1991), hopefulness is a life-sustaining human
strength comprised of three distinct but related components:
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, Nichter, & Ritenbaugh (2016), transcendent hope encompasses three types
of hope, namely:
Patient Hope – a hope that everything will work out well in the end.
Generalized Hope – hope not directed toward a specific outcome.
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.
Hope Therapy is borne from pure positive psychology. Rather than focusing on unpleasant or
distressing factors, Hope Therapy incorporates positive self-talking, hopeful imagination, and
connections with supportive networks (Shekarabi-Ahari, Younesi, Borjali, & Ansari-Damavandi,
2012).
Hope Therapy is designed to help clients to conceptualize clearer goals, produce multiple
pathways to goal attainment, and reframe barriers as challenges to be overcome (Lopez, Floyd,
Ulven, & Snyder, 2000). According to Crocker (1998) hope therapy helps improve satisfaction,
resilience, and levels of depression by effectively creating a positive cognitive triad; that is a
positive view of yourself, of the world and of the future.
Furthermore, hope therapy can encourage individuals with a history of depression or unpleasant
past experiences to contemplate the future in a more positive way rather than as a projection of
previous experience (Santos et al., 2013).
Encouraging clients to express their life stories is an integral part of Hope Therapy; these stories
provide opportunities for clinicians to highlight and encourage hopeful perspectives. For
instance, Santos et al. (2013) found that group hope therapy significantly decreased depression
and increased hope in mothers whose children suffer from cancer.
Additionally, a hope-focused approach to couples therapy can motivate each partner to take the
initiative in improving their relationship (agency thinking) and develop concrete methods of
achieving their goals (pathways thinking).
Worthington et al. (1997) examined the outcome of Hope Therapy aimed at improving
enrichment and increasing couples’ hope of a successful relationship. The results indicated that
hope therapy is an effective method of making positive changes to partner satisfaction.
While hoping and wishing can both involve a relatively low likelihood of the outcome occurring,
individuals tend to wish for outcomes that have little or no possibility of occurring (Bruininks &
Malle, 2005).
Support is also a critical factor in the development of hope. While an absence of support can lead
to isolation, hopelessness, and lack of motivation, an individual with a solid support network is
better able to imagine positive possibilities (Adams & Partee, 1998).
Respondents are invited to take a few minutes to focus on themselves and what is currently going
on in their lives in order to achieve a ‘here and now’ mindset. The State Hope Scale measures a
person’s level of hope at a single point in time and is based on the respondent’s current situation.
Pathways subscale scores can be calculated by adding the scores for items 1, 3, and 5 – higher
scores indicate higher levels of pathways thinking.
Agency subscale scores can be calculated by adding the scores of items 2, 4, and 6 – higher
scores indicate higher levels of agency thinking.
Total hope scores can be calculated by combining the pathways and agency subscales together –
higher scores represent higher overall hope levels.
The Herth Hope Index (HHI)
The Herth Hope Index (HHI; Herth, 1991) is a 12-item instrument designed to measure a global,
non-time oriented sense of hope. Developed from the 30-item Herth Hope Scale, the HHI is
based on the definition of hope as being a multidimensional life force characterized by a
confident yet uncertain expectation of achieving a future good (Dufalt & Martocchio, 1985).
Temporality and future – the presence of goals and a positive outlook on life versus fear
of the future.
Positive readiness and expectancy – a sense of direction and the ability to see a light at
the end of the tunnel.
Interconnectedness – a sense of isolation versus giving and receiving love.
Responses to the items are scored using a 4-point scale (from strongly disagree to strongly
agree) with possible scores ranging from 12 to 48.
Hope is more than just a state of mind; it is an action-oriented strength. In the absence of
this inner resource, how can we find the motivation to pursue our goals and the resilience
to pick ourselves up when things go wrong?
Many people persevere with the idea that hope is an either/or proposition, believing that in
order to have hope, all despair must be extinguished. While it is true that hope comes and
goes, and there are times when we feel like all hope is diminished, there is light at the end of
the tunnel.
Through practice, patience, and hope-focused discourse, practitioners can help to make
hope visible – not only to themselves but also to their clients.