An Exploratory Study of Hope and Its Process Using Focus Groups and Phenomenological Analysis

Abstract

Snyder (2000) describes the beginning of hope with the story of Pandora, beautiful maiden who was sent to earth by the Gods to fulfill revenge from Prometheus as he had stolen fire. Sent with beautiful jar, Pandora could not wait to open it though being instructed not to do so. She was horrified to see all the evils being out of the jar and she quickly shut it close leaving hope behind in it. Snyder developed the hope theory which has received the most attention since the 1990s.Snyder defines hope as: is the sum of perceived capabilities to produce routes to desired goals, along with the perceived motivation to use those routes. One form of the definition was, a positive motivational state that is based on an interactively derived sense of successful agency (goal-directed energy) and pathways (planning to meet goals) (Snyder, Irving & Anderson, 1991). A second definition described it as a cognitive set that is based on reciprocally-derived sense of successful agency (goal-directed determination) and pathways (planning to meet goals) (Snyder, Harris, Anderson, Holleran, Irving, Sigmon, Yoshinobu, Gibb, Langelle, & Harney, 1991).Goals work as an anchor in the process of hoping and have been seen as cognitive components. These goals could be short term or long term and not necessarily as visual images or verbal descriptions. When one is sure of achieving the goals, one need not hope for it and when one is certain of not being able to achieve them, then also one does not hope. It is in the intermediate probability of achieving goals that hope flourishes the most. The routes which individuals use to reach their goals are termed as Pathways thoughts. In simple words it means to think as to how can one reach from Ato B. Agency thoughts are understood as mental force which motivates individuals to use the located routes to reach out to their goals. It is this agency thinking which provides us with 'push' to move ahead whenever we are faced with impediments to reach our goals.Snyder (1994) also proposes that hope has no hereditary contributions and it is rather an entirely learned cognitive set about goal-directed thinking. The teachings of pathways and agentic thinking is seen as an inherent part of parenting which helps the child to bring in the components of hopeful thinking in place by the age of two years. Pathways thinking is the basic cause and effect learning that the child acquires from interactions with caregivers and this is achieved before age one year with agency thinking developing around age one year. Snyder (1994, 2000) has stated that strong attachment to caregivers is crucial for imparting hope.Hope has received little attention due to its superficial analysis. Philip Pettit (2004) in his conceptual paper 'Hope and its place in mind' argues that the term 'hope' should be utilized in more specific way. Such usage would give hope characteristic identity of its own. He believes that hope is very distinctive state of mind and has rational andubiquitous place in human life. A prerequisite to hope is to believe that hope is not forlorn. One must believe that hope is true and will be realized.Pettit also agrees that hope requires elements of beliefs and desires but with this it also requires something else and that something else gives hope its characteristic identity. Hope is rational as it helps us to bring ourselves out of the panics and depressions and gives us control and direction. Without hope, we would collapse in despair and uncertainty. Hope is also seen as cognitive counterpart of planning wherein an action plan is seen as way of handling the rough and tumble of desire which keeps anything else which is inconsistent at rest. Such planning gives kind of coordination in an uncertain and uncompanionable world.In another conceptual paper 'An Anatomy of Hope' by Roberts Mills (1979), finds common roots between the words 'hope' and 'hopelessness'. …