Hope Theory A Member of the Positive Psychology Family

Abstract A new theory typically begins with the proponents offering a model that supposedly is more heuristic than the prevailing, older view. Our development of hope theory began in this manner. So, what was the accepted scholarly view of hope that we sought to alter? The perception that one’s goals can be attained was a common thread in the scholarly work that defined hope in the 1950s through 1960s (Cantril, 1964; Farber, 1968; Frank, 1975; Frankl, 1992; Melges & Bowlby, 1969; Menninger, 1959; Schachtel, 1959). Our hypothesis was that this view, although shared by many previous scholars, did not fully capture that which is involved in hopeful goal-directed thought.