Graduation Year

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

Open Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor in Psychology (Psy. D.)

Abstract

Hope is an essential cognitive state as it relates to motivation and aspirations and allows one to feel efficacious in pursuing desired outcomes in life. When used ineffectively, it may also have negative effects on well-being and quality of life in the disappointment that follows from unmet expectations. Hopelessness (aka despair), on the other hand, occurs when one loses hope, and when one is unable to recover from despair, the consequences may be extreme. Despair may result in negative impacts to well-being and mental health and may also present in individuals’ behaviors. Those who experience extreme, severe, and frequent despair without strategies for remediating that cognitive state are at risk of developing coping strategies that are maladaptive, destructive, or fatal. The present work is a review of models of hope backed by scientific inquiry, including the dimensions of hope as they relate to cognitions, emotions, behaviors, and personality traits. Included in this work is also a review of the limited research evaluating methods of treating hopelessness to build a framework that may effectively aid individuals in building and maintaining a hopeful cognitive state. The intention is not to reduce feelings of despair, but to establish a repertoire of cognitive and emotional skills to contend with despair not if, but when, things fall apart. Hope-Efficacy Affective Reappraisal Training (HEART) is a group treatment program designed to target hopelessness based on current hope theory.

Faculty Mentor

Melinda Moore, PhD

Department Affiliation

Psychology

Committee Member

MyraBeth Bundy, PhD

Department Affiliation

Psychology

Committee Member

Jerry Palmer, PhD

Department Affiliation

Psychology

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