"False" hope.
"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.
Snyder
C R
CR
Graduate Training Program in Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045-2462, USA. crsnyder@KU.edu
Rand
Kevin L
KL
King
Elisa A
EA
Feldman
David B
DB
Woodward
Julia T
JT
D000339:Affect; D006040:Goals; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007088:Illusions; D011582:Psychological Theory