title: "False" hope.
abstract: "False" hope is condemned in the literature on the grounds that it reflects the counterproductive use of: (a) expectations based on illusions rather than reality, (b) inappropriate goals, and (c) poor strategies to reach desired goals. Snyder, Harris, et al.'s (1991) hope theory involving self-referential thoughts about finding routes to desired goals (pathways) and the motivation to use those routes (agency) is used as a framework for examining these three criticisms of false hope. It is concluded that the presently available evidence does not support any of the false-hope criticisms. The implications of hope-related issues for the applied clinical arena are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Training Program in Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045-2462, USA. crsnyder@KU.edu
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Snyder
authors.forename: Kevin L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Rand
authors.forename: Elisa A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.forename: Julia T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Woodward
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D006040:Goals; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007088:Illusions; D011582:Psychological Theory