Research indicates that the protypical high-hope person appears to exhibiy optimism, perceptions of control over one's life, perceived problem-solving ability, a preference for competition (but not winning itself), high self-esteem, and positive affectivity. Additionally high-hope persons are not as likely as low-hope persons to manifest negative affectivity (including hostility, fear and guilt), anxiety and depression. The following mind map summarizes the characteristics of high-hope people.
The mindmap is followed by an outline of each of the characteristics and a list of "Inspire-U-2" modules you can use to develop, or at least boost your inspirational levels for, that characteristic.
Characteristics of the Hopeful
Overall Hope Scale scores correlate positively with measures of optimism. Optimism usually relates more strongly to the willpower than the waypower component of hope. Optimists are therefore more likely to have a sense of mental energy for their goals, but they may not necessarily have the waypower thoughts.
Higher-hope people want to exert personal control in their lives. Correlation studies confirm this and suggest that hope is tied positively to perceptions of control. Higher-hope people prefer an internal source of control - they are the captain of their own ship. Compare this to an external source of control where people are controlled by powerful outside forces and people.
"Control" has many facets. The following mind map lists three of the most important ones - none is more important than the other and there is no hierarchy implied by each one's position!
Facets of Control
Because one of the cornerstone components of hope is waypower thinking, hope should relate to an individual's perceived ability to solve problems. Research confirms that hope and problem-solving ability are highly related. Perceived problem-solving is especially related to waypower thinking.
Competitiveness involves testing oneself in comparison to other people. Research indicates that among both male and female athletes higher hope is related to greater competitiveness. Higher-hope people enjoy working hard and gaining a sense of physical mastery. They also look forward to testing themselves against others, but no relationship was found between higher hope and the desire to win in competition with others. This suggests a motivational picture of high-hope people that mixes social comparison as a testing ground for one's competitive performance with a lack of concern about necessarily winning. High-hope persons evidently are not caught up in the winning-is-everything mentality, but they are drawn to the competitive arena - the pleasure is more in the process than the outcome, the process of moving toward their goals.
Self-esteem reflects one's level of hope. High-hope persons who are accustomed to willful and planful thoughts about their goals experience positive self-esteem across a variety of situations. Research data support this. Higher-hope people think positively of themselves because they know they have pursued their goals in the past and can do so in the future. The self-esteem of higher-hope people is of the private and internal type, a quiet self- respect and dignity (versus the external type that is typified by public dispalys of pride).
Self-esteem has many facets. The following mind map lists two of the important ones.
Facets of Self-esteem
Positive affectivity is a mental state characterized by full concentration, engagement and high energy. It is a way of thinking in which our minds are interested, excited, strong, enthusiastic, proud, alert, inspired, determined, attentive and active. Higher-hope people experience such a positive affective state as evidenced by various correlational findings of research teams.
Positive affecivity has many facets - see above. The following mind map lists five of the most important ones - none is more important than the other and there is no hierarchy implied by each one's position!
Facets of Positive Affectivity
The flip side of positive affectivity is negative affectivity. Negative affectivity is a general state of subjective distress including nervousness, contempt, anger, fear and guilt. This negative mindset is, according to research and as expected, not characteristic of high hope people. High hope relates to less negative affectivity.
Negative affecivity has many facets - see above. The following mind map lists six of the most important ones - none is more important than the other and there is no hierarchy implied by each one's position!
Facets of Negative Affectivity