The Two Faces of Hope: Hope Positive and Hope Negative
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DISSERTATIO N THE TWO FACES OF HOPE: HOPE POSITIVE AND HOPE NEGATIVE A POLAR PERSPECTIVE 18197 25/10/2016 REECE COKER 21222678 CONTENTS CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................... 2 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 4 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 5 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................ 8 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES .......................................................................................................... 13 RESEARCH DESIGN .................................................................................................................. 14 DATA COLLECTION ................................................................................................................... 14 ANALYTIC STRATEGY ............................................................................................................... 15 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ..................................................................................... 16 FURTHER INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA ....................................................................... 43 CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................................... 51 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................. 53 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................. 55 2 2 THE TWO FACES OF HOPE: HOPE POSITIVE & HOPE NEGATIVE, A POLAR PERSPECTIVE For my lighthouse “Fear is an ocean wide and vast. Its roaring waves dwell in all temporal planes reaching the shores of the future, present and past. Fear can divert us from the course of our dreams of the future. Its currents can paralyze us in the present and halt our forward momentum. Its draw can pull us back into the past. Hope is a lighthouse in this ocean, and its light penetrates the fogs of fear. Hope shows us the way and gives us the will to move forwards. Its whisper can be heard above the roar for those who listen!” (Coker, 2016). Acknowledgements WitH soul felt tHaNks to Dr. Piers WortH wHo believed iN me, cHalleNged me aNd guided me oN tHe path towards my hopes for the future. Gratitude to my peers oN tHe MAAP wHo supported me aNd coaxed me out of my recluse’s sHell Special thanks to the participants of the study who have contributed to this work that has a special place in my life story… 3 3 ABSTRACT The coNcept of Hope and its study lies witHiN tHe discipline of positive psycHology. Thus far, C.R. Snyder (2002) Has tHeorized a model of Hope, whicH proposed tHat Hope was felt iN tHe pursuit of goals wHere aN iNdividual would exhibit ‘agency ‘self-belief and motivation, and ‘pathway’ thoughts, visualisiNg a way to achieve tHese goals. Snyder’s proposals and researcH appears limited to its coNsideratioN of hope as a motivator aNd how hope levels may be measured. It offers a model of the potential dynamics, but in offering a general picture, the model does not explore the breadth and depth of hope. For example, that in addition to a HigH or low Hope level, tHere may be different aspects to Hope tHat Need to be uNderstood, together with its origiNs, meaNiNg and purpose. His researcH Has its limitatioNs, and the full depth of hope is not considered, and may even be confused with optimism aNd self-esteem, Nor does it coNsider tHe exteNt to wHich goals tHat are pursued are tHe best fit for tHe iNdividual, iN terms of their streNgths (Lopez, 2013), wHicH may also iNclude the iNtriNsic meaNiNg of the goal itself. This researcH posits that hope and fear are actually two perspectives of the same emotion sharing the same origiNs aNd purpose, aNd that these perspectives are desigNed to work together depeNdiNg on whether we want something to happen or want to avoid something. Through interviews and thematic aNalysis, the Polar Model of Hope aNd fear Has emerged to illustrate this polarity aNd duality. Additionally, a model Has emerged to illustrate wHy and wHen Hope or fear are evoked, together with the coNditioNs aNd elemeNts that seem to exist during tHis process. THis model is called tHe Hope TriaNgle. 4 4 INTRODUCTION This paper coNsiders the questioNs of; wheN, why, How aNd where Hope is experieNced aNd explores the positive aNd Negative aspects. It cHalleNges some of tHe tHeories arouNd hope aNd suggests new interpretatioNs, argumeNts, questioNs, and tHeories. SNyder (2002), suggests tHat Hope witHiN individuals stems from two compoNeNts, Namely way power – whicH refereNces tHe patHways tHat are ideNtified, or tHat caN be created by tHe individual in tHe attainmeNt of a goal, aNd will power – whicH is tHe agency aNd motivatioN coNtaiNed witHiN aN iNdividual. THis Hope tHeory captures two importaNt compoNeNts of hope, but tHe remaining questioN of whetHer Hope is still experieNced wheN tHere is No discernible pathway towards a goal briNgs a cHallenge to tHis tHeory. WHat about wheN tHe goal is oNe tHat aN iNdividual waNts to avoid, aNd tHerefore Not asked for – or wanted? PerHaps tHe levels of motivatioN Have waned and tHe iNdividuals is struggliNg to fiNd tHe agency to coNtiNue... IN tHis coNtext, does Hope still spring as a result of a desperate situatioN? The exploratioN of how hope operates within us in terms of the emotional components such as courage, resilience, and persistence wHicH may expand Snyder’s reference to agency. The coNsideratioN of factors tHat may impact aN iNdividual’s ability to maNufacture or perceive patHways may also expaNd tHis side of Snyder’s Hope tHeory. HOPEFUL FEAR AND FEARFUL HOPE – IS THERE A LINK? WheN coNsideriNg the concept of hoping that something ‘will’ happen, there is an inference that it goes hand in hand with fearing that it won’t. Similarly, wHeN we fear tHat sometHiNg ‘will’ happen, we, I would iNfer tHat we teNd to Hope that it woN’t. THis preseNts the possibility of a liNk, aNd poteNtially more tHaN tHis, tHat tHe two are fuNdameNtally joiNed iN a way tHat may be impossible to separate. Some of tHe suggested evidence for tHis is summarised below: • They are both motivators, one towards something and one away from something (SNyder C. R., The PsycHology of Hope, 2003). • They are botH felt wHeN an eveNt Has eitHer positive or Negative outcomes tHat are impactful and, or meaniNgful to the iNdividual (Averill, CatliN, & CHoN, 1990). • Physiology doesN’t lie! They botH cause anticipatory pHysiological respoNses, whicH are uncannily similar, i.e. sweaty palms, excitemeNt, and trepidatioN. THe oNly differeNce is the fact that one outcome is desired and the other is not! (LeDoux, 2003). 5 5 • They are botH felt wHere meaniNgful coNsequeNces require actioN from the individual, yet where total coNtrol of the outcome is Not possible aNd therefore there is aN elemeNt of speculatioN. (Averill, CatliN, & CHoN, 1990) PerHaps tHe questioN tHat will lead to tHe ultimate answer is wHy… WHy Hope and wHat is it for? For me, Hope is sometHiNg tHat I turN to wHeN tHe coNsequeNce aNd gravity of sometHiNg that I waNt to happen, or want to avoid is of a certain size and level of intrinsic meaning. EsseNtially, I ofteN experience ‘fear’ towards the outcome - particularly wHere I Have No perceived ability to exert coNtrol or iNflueNce. IN order to deal witH tHis fear, I simply switcH perspective aNd start to ‘Hope’. The iNgredieNts of tHis Hope are explained in the following personal accouNt. PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE EXPERIENCE OF HOPE My motHer aNNouNced tHat sHe Had caNcer and tHat tHe progNosis was HigHly Negative. INitially tHere was sHock, followed by fear aNd a seNse of HelplessNess aNd loss of coNtrol or iNflueNce. TheN, I looked for secoNd opinioNs, searcHed for iNformatioN, educated myself oN the coNditioN in order to gaiN some kiNd of coNtrol – in some way. WHeN tHe secoNd opinioNs ecHoed tHe first opinioNs, aNd even more HelplessNess set iN, I even turNed to searcHiNg for anecdotal evidence of miracles and where medical opiNioNs Had beeN wroNg, aNd, I prayed. It was almost as if Hope was a life raft to me in a sea of fear. Some may say tHat I was in deNial… Now tHat may be true, perHaps hope is a form of denial, but I would argue that it is a denial of giviNg iN to fear aNd a suspensioN of fear. Hope for me attenuated tHe fear, it didN’t stop it, tHere was always a backgrouNd Noise of fear, but tHrougH Hope, I could fuNctioN, I could keep going, I could gatHer my streNgtH, rally rouNd… If not for tHe hope, I would Have to face aNd deal witH tHe grief of losiNg my motHer wHilst sHe was still alive, aNd notwithstanding the fact that I believed that I had to be strong and supportive – for Her. IN tHis instaNce delaying dealing witH tHe outcome was useful. There are also times tHat I can remember, wHilst serviNg iN tHe military, wHere tHe ultimate fear tHat we all sHare, iN tHe form of deatH came up more tHaN oNce. I remember turNiNg to Hope iN tHese instaNces. FraNkly, hope was tHe oNly tHing tHat kept me going, and it is a good job tHat I did, as Help arrived and I am alive to tell tHe tale. At one point, I recall tHat the temptatioN to gaiN some coNtrol by ‘cHoosiNg’