Assignment 1A Psych of Wellbeing Critical Analysis of Charles Snyder’s Hope Theory. PDF

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1 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF HOPE THEORY

Critical Analysis of Charles Snyder’s Hope Theory: Rainbows in the Mind.

PSY30011 Psychology of Wellbeing Assignment 1A: Reading Blog 1

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2 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF HOPE THEORY Hope is an emerging concept studied by American Psychologist, Charles R. Snyder who develop Hope Theory as a way to measure and understand hope through goals, pathways and agencies. In Snyder’s 2002 article, Hope Theory: Rainbows in the Mind, he provides extensive research into hope and provides support to his theories and views. This report critically analyses Snyder’s report.

Snyder’s Hope Theory (2002) suggests that hope should not be conceptualised as just an emotion but rather as a dynamic cognitive system centred around goal setting and motivation. Synder (2002, p. 250) describes hope as a positive motivational state which is based on the interaction of Pathways Thinking and Agency Thinking. The underlying assumption of Hope Theory is that human behaviour is dictated by goals (Synder 2002, p. 250).

Snyder (2002) describes Pathways Thinking as the ability to generate alternative ways to achieve a desired goal. Snyder (2002, p. 251) describes high hope people to demonstrate Pathways Thinking which articulates a plausible route to achieve the goal and to also produce alternative routes to achieve the goal. A low hope person demonstrates Pathways Thinking with an unarticulated route to achieve the goal and who lack the ability to find alternative  ways

to achieve their goal (Snyder 2002, p. 251).

Snyder (2002, p. 251) describes Agency Thinking as what people perceive as their capacity is to achieve their goals using their pathway and how they remain motivated when they encounter problems achieving their goal. Snyder (2002, p. 255) suggests that high hope people view the problems as challenges and create a new pathway to achieve their goal.

3 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF HOPE THEORY Conversely, Synder (2002, p. 255) suggests that low hope people are more susceptible to these problems and more likely to be derailed from achieving their goals.

Synder formed his views on Hope Theory from his research into related theories on optimism, self-esteem, self-efficacy and problem solving; and reviewing previous studies on academics, athletes, people with physical and psychological illnesses, and psychological practitioners.

There are several criticisms that can be noted from Synder’s Hope Theory.

Firstly, Snyder’s literature review of previous studies is heavily reliant on American students. Snyder (2002, p. 259) states that academic performance is better with high hope students as they find alternative ways to achieve the educational goals; and high hope athletes are more successful during stressful competitions as they have an ability to demonstrate different pathways to achieve their sporting goals. However, studies from less developed countries are not represented and the concepts of Hope Theory may not be applied to students or athletes outside of America. It could be argued that lessor hope could exist with students or athletes who live in less privileged countries or countries experiencing a civil war.

Secondly, the literature review is of students which limits the application of Hope Theory to an older population. Snyder (2002, p. 260) suggests that higher hope individuals who suffer a physical illness may information about the illness as a pathway to prevent further deterioration. However, older adults may not have access to this information if their computer literacy is poor and they may demonstrate lessor hope with their declining health over time.

4 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF HOPE THEORY

Finally, Snyder measures adult hope through the Trait Hope Scale which consists of four pathways, four agency and four distractor items (Synder 2002, p. 255). The author of this report participated in Trait Hope Scale questionnaire and found the agency items such as “I’ve been pretty successful in life” (Snyder, Harris, et al., 1991) to be generic in nature and not taking account the complexities of the different sides of life where someone could feel success in their relationships but unsuccessful in the career.

Snyder’s work provides a unique perspective on what many people understand hope to be from an emotion to a cognitive process involving goals, agency and pathway thinking. The reliability of his research could be improved by including a more diverse population and inclusive of all age groups.

5 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF HOPE THEORY References

Snyder, C. R., Harris, C., Anderson, J. R., Holleran, S. A., Irving, L. M., Sigmon, S. T., Yoshinobu, L., Gibb, J., Langelle, C., & Harney, P. (1991). The will and the ways: Development and validation of an individual-differences measure of hope. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60 (4), 570–585.

Snyder, C. R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological inquiry , 13(4), 249-275....