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Hope Theory

🧠 Psychology By CampusDown Wiki Editorial Team Last updated
Hope theory, developed by C. R. Snyder, defines hope as a cognitive state combining pathways thinking, the capacity to generate routes to desired goals, and agency thinking, the motivation to use those routes.
Contents
  1. 1. Goals, pathways, agency
  2. 2. Hope scales
  3. 3. Related concepts
  4. 4. FAQ
  5. 5. References

Goals, pathways, agency

Snyder (1994, 2002) described hope as goals pursued through pathways and agency, stressing the ability to find alternative routes, a key idea in positive psychology.

Hope scales

Snyder and colleagues developed the adult (1991), state (1996) and children's (1997) hope scales, linking high hope to better goal-setting and persistence.

Optimism is a general expectation of good outcomes; hope stresses one's own routes and drive. Alarcon and colleagues (2013) found them related but distinct, and Feldman and Kubota (2015) compared hope with self-efficacy in predicting grades. Hope also differs from optimism bias.

FAQ

What is hope theory in simple terms?
Hope is believing you can find a way to a goal and keep going on it.
How does hope differ from optimism?
Optimism expects good outcomes; hope focuses on finding and pursuing ways yourself.

Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26

References

  1. Snyder, C. R. (1994). The psychology of hope: You can get there from here. Free Press. The main book.
  2. 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. The adult hope scale.
  3. Snyder, C. R., Sympson, S. C., Ybasco, F. C., Borders, T. F., Babyak, M. A., & Higgins, R. L. (1996). Development and validation of the State Hope Scale. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(2), 321–335. The State Hope Scale.
  4. Snyder, C. R., Hoza, B., Pelham, W. E., Rapoff, M., Ware, L., Danovsky, M., Highberger, L., Rubinstein, H., & Stahl, K. J. (1997). The development and validation of the Children's Hope Scale. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 22(3), 399–421. The Children's Hope Scale.
  5. Snyder, C. R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13(4), 249–275. Comprehensive statement.
  6. Alarcon, G. M., Bowling, N. A., & Khazon, S. (2013). Great expectations: A meta-analytic examination of optimism and hope. Personality and Individual Differences, 54(7), 821–827. Meta-analysis of hope and optimism.
  7. Feldman, D. B., & Kubota, M. (2015). Hope, self-efficacy, optimism, and academic achievement: Distinguishing constructs and levels of specificity in predicting college grade-point average. Learning and Individual Differences, 37, 210–216. Hope and academic achievement.

Reports and materials that use this theory (Korean)

There are no materials dedicated to this theory yet, but you can search related reports in the CampusDown library (Korean).

Find more reports · Search '희망이론' on CampusDown →
Self-EfficacyBandura's self-efficacy: efficacy versus outcome expectations, the four sources (mastery, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, physiological states), level, strength and generality, measurement, and uses in learning, health behaviour and counselling.🧠 PsychologyPositive PsychologyWhat positive psychology is, why Martin Seligman launched it in 1998, the five PERMA elements of well-being, VIA character strengths, meta-analytic evidence on gratitude and other exercises, and the "forced positivity" critique.🧠 PsychologyOptimism biasOptimism bias is the unrealistic belief that good events are more likely, and bad events less likely, to happen to oneself than to others.🧠 PsychologyAchievement Motivation TheoryAchievement motivation theory explained: McClelland's needs for achievement, affiliation and power, measuring them with the TAT, what high achievers prefer, Atkinson's expectancy-value model with the motive to avoid failure, and uses in school and work.🧠 Psychology

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This article was last updated on October 27, 2026. It is based on widely recognized original works and textbooks; when citing it in a paper, please check the original sources listed in the references.