Search citation statements
Paper Sections
Citation Types
Year Published
Publication Types
Relationship
Authors
Journals
The current chapter has the primary purpose of laying the theoretical grounds on which the cross-cultural empirical research program of the Hope Barometer between 2017 and 2021 was developed and executed. The two main goals of this chapter correspond to the inter- and transdisciplinary methodology applied in our work. The first goal is to give a brief interdisciplinary overview of psychological, philosophical, and theological theories presenting different perspectives from which the existential phenomenon of hope has been studied. Following previous research, hope will be examined along six general dimensions, which highlight the nature of hope as cognition, as affect, as behavior, as a social phenomenon, as a virtue, and from a religious perspective. Based on the similarities and complementary views of these different conceptualizations of hope, a basic transdisciplinary concept or model of hope will be presented. The proposed concept should do justice to the essence of hope, taking into account the diversity of situations in which people might hope and being sensitive to different cultural backgrounds. Our conceptualization of hope contains three fundamental elements, which are (1) a wish or desire for a valuable good, (2) the belief that the realization of this wish is possible but uncertain or even unlikely, and (3) the trust in the availability of current or future internal and external resources which can facilitate the fulfillment of the hoped-for good in the face of obstacles and setbacks. We understand wish, belief, and trust as the universal elements in the process of hoping. In concrete situations and different cultural contexts, these three elements can assume different forms and characteristics related to those mentioned above cognitive, affective, behavioral, social, religious, and value dimensions. The singular elements and dimensions serve as the core research domains, which will be elaborated on in detail in the following chapters of the book.
The current chapter has the primary purpose of laying the theoretical grounds on which the cross-cultural empirical research program of the Hope Barometer between 2017 and 2021 was developed and executed. The two main goals of this chapter correspond to the inter- and transdisciplinary methodology applied in our work. The first goal is to give a brief interdisciplinary overview of psychological, philosophical, and theological theories presenting different perspectives from which the existential phenomenon of hope has been studied. Following previous research, hope will be examined along six general dimensions, which highlight the nature of hope as cognition, as affect, as behavior, as a social phenomenon, as a virtue, and from a religious perspective. Based on the similarities and complementary views of these different conceptualizations of hope, a basic transdisciplinary concept or model of hope will be presented. The proposed concept should do justice to the essence of hope, taking into account the diversity of situations in which people might hope and being sensitive to different cultural backgrounds. Our conceptualization of hope contains three fundamental elements, which are (1) a wish or desire for a valuable good, (2) the belief that the realization of this wish is possible but uncertain or even unlikely, and (3) the trust in the availability of current or future internal and external resources which can facilitate the fulfillment of the hoped-for good in the face of obstacles and setbacks. We understand wish, belief, and trust as the universal elements in the process of hoping. In concrete situations and different cultural contexts, these three elements can assume different forms and characteristics related to those mentioned above cognitive, affective, behavioral, social, religious, and value dimensions. The singular elements and dimensions serve as the core research domains, which will be elaborated on in detail in the following chapters of the book.
Czechia and Poland underwent a significant sociopolitical change following the fall of communism in the 1980s. Despite having a lot in common (i.e., culture, language), the two significantly differ in other areas, such as religiosity. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the role of hope in the context of depression and anxiety, positive mental health, and loneliness and to explore age- and religion-related differences between their citizens.The sample consisted of 526 Czech and 481 Polish adults. The 2019 Hope Barometer questionnaire included measures of satisfaction with the past year and expectations for the upcoming year, perceived and dispositional hope, anxiety and depression, positive mental health, and loneliness.All respondents were most satisfied with their personal lives and shared a generally low level of optimism about their national politics. However, significant differences were observed in positive and negative indicators of mental health, where Czechs obtained generally higher positive indicators than Poles. Compared to both older generations, the youngest respondents in both countries reported lower levels of perceived hope, positive mental health, and satisfaction with the climate and environment, and greater loneliness, anxiety, and depression; they also reported more pessimistic expectations for the national economy. However, regardless of cultural background, religious participants showed higher levels of perceived hope. Both samples demonstrated similar patterns in predictors of positive mental health, as found by regression analysis. Perceived hope and dispositional hope positively predicted mental health, while negative emotivity and loneliness predicted mental health negatively.These results are discussed within a broader framework of life experiences on the micro- and macrolevel in the context of Central European countries that recently underwent macrosocial transitions.
This chapter explores the commonalities and differences in hope between Spanish (N = 206) and South African (N = 100) samples based on data collected with the Hope Barometer in November 2018. Furthermore, we investigate similarities and differences in the sources of hope between the two samples, as reflected in the activities that people engage in to fulfil their hopes and to attain the hoped-for targets (hope activities). Finally, we examine these activities as predictors of hope. Since hope is an important predictor of flourishing, we also analyze the predictive power of hope and its dimensions on flourishing in both samples, using two different measures and conceptualizations of hope (perceived hope and dispositional hope). Finally, we explore the role of sociodemographic indicators as predictors of hope and flourishing. Our results indicated that South African participants had higher levels of hope than the Spanish sample. We also found differences and commonalities in terms of endorsement of specific hope activities. The results indicated that perceived hope was a strong predictor of flourishing in both samples, supporting the idea that perceived hope may be a universal motivational need applicable across cultures. These findings highlight the need to carry out more cross-cultural studies on hope and paves the way for further cross-cultural understanding of this important human resource.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.