Distinguishing Hope and Optimism: Two Sides of a Coin, or Two Separate Coins?

By F. Bryant, Jamie A. Cvengros. 2004

458 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract Structural equation modeling was used to test hypotheses about (a) the dimensionality of measures of dispositional hope (the Adult Hope Scale, AHS) and dispositional optimism (the Life Orientation Test, LOT), (b) the extent and source of conceptual overlap and divergence between hope and optimism, and (c) patterns of discriminant validity for each trait. Separate two-factor models best fit the hope (Agency and Pathways, r = .68) and optimism (Optimism and Pessimism, r = -.63) data. Analyzing the combined AHS and LOT data, a measurement model with separate, correlated second-order factors of Hope and Optimism ( r = .80) provided a better fit than did a higher-order model with a single second-order factor. Optimism correlated equally with both Agency and Pathways, whereas Pessimism was more strongly correlated with Agency than with Pathways. Confirming hypotheses, second-order Optimism had a stronger influence on the use of positive reappraisal as a coping strategy than did second-order Hope, where...

Subfields: Applied Psychology, Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/b35d9616cd409829e0ad9bf3f960b146b64bec5e

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Applied Psychology

In Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

In Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

Citations in the corpus

Future orientation and attitudes mediate career adaptability and decidedness (2016, background): “…have addressed hope, optimism, and lack of pessimism, the degree of overlapping between these three constructs underlines that they reflect a single global dimension, i.e. the positive attitude toward the future, reflecting a positively oriented vision about future (Bryant & Cvengros, 2004).”
Academic Optimism, Hope and Zest for Work as Predictors of Teacher Self-Efficacy and Perceived Success. (2015, unknown): “Numerous studies have stated a positive relationship between optimism and hope (Amy et al., 2004; Bryant & Cvengros, 2004; Peleg et al., 2009; Robinson & Snipes, 2009; Shorey et al., 2007; Steinberg, 2007), so, as this study observed, teacher academic optimism similarly increases levels of hope.”
Hope and emotional well-being: A six-year study to distinguish antecedents, correlates, and consequences (2015, background): “Hope and optimism have been shown to load on separate factors (Bryant & Cvengros, 2004; Magaletta & Oliver, 1999), and hope explains unique variance above and beyond optimism when predicting mental and physical health outcomes (Bailey et al., 2007; Kashdan et al., 2002; Magaletta & Oliver, 1999).”
Potential Added Value of Psychological Capital in Predicting Work Attitudes (2006, background): “…considerable theoretical and empirical work that clearly demonstrates the conceptual independence and empirical discriminant validity among efficacy, hope, and optimism (e.g., see Bryant & Cvengros, 2004; Luthans & Jensen, 2002; Magaletta & Oliver, 1999; Snyder, 2000, 2002; Snyder, et al., 2001).”
Emerging Positive Organizational Behavior (2007, background): “Finally, the discriminant validity of self-efficacy, hope, and optimism has been supported through several empirical studies (Bryant & Cvengros, 2004; Carifio & Rhodes, 2002; Luthans et al., in press; Magaletta & Oliver, 1999).”
Psychological Capital: An Evidence-Based Positive Approach (2017, background): “…validity of these constructs has also been established empirically, not only in the analysis of PsyCap (Luthans et al. 2007), but also in the positive psychology literature (e.g., see Alarcon et al. 2013, Bryant & Cvengros 2004, Gallaghar & Lopez 2009, Magaletta & Oliver 1999, Rand et al. 2011).”
Positive expectancies and mental health: Identifying the unique contributions of hope and optimism (2009, background): “…that hope and optimism are distinct constructs and that hope and optimism may provide two distinct mechanisms by which positive expectancies can shape human behavior and produce positive outcomes (Bryant & Cvengros, 2004; Rand, 2009; Snyder, 2002; Snyder, Sympson, Michael, & Cheavens, 2001).”
Profiles of hope: How clusters of hope relate to school variables (2017, methodology): “Using confirmatory factor analysis, Bryant and Cvengros (2004) found that a joint examination of hope and optimism items resulted in the best fit when the items from the two constructs loaded on separate factors.”
The Additive Value of Positive Psychological Capital in Predicting Work Attitudes and Behaviors (2010, background): “…empirical findings demonstrate both convergent and discriminant validity of the four positive constructs that make up PsyCap (e.g., see Bryant & Cvengros, 2004; Carifio & Rhodes, 2002; Magaletta & Oliver, 1999), including when analyzed with employee samples (Luthans, Avolio et al.,…”
Hope and optimism as related to life satisfaction (2007, methodology): “Alphas of positively worded items (LOT-RO) and negatively worded items (LOT-RP) ranged from 0.70 to 0.80 (Bryant & Cvengros, 2004; Steed, 2002).”
The impact of positivity and transparency on trust in leaders and their perceived effectiveness (2010, background): “Empirically, it has been shown that the four dimensions have convergent and discriminant validity in both the positive psychology (e.g., Bryant & Cvengros, 2004; Carifio & Rhodes, 2002; Magaletta & Oliver, 1999) andworkplace literature (Luthans, Avolio, et al., 2007).”
The Development and Resulting Performance Impact of Positive Psychological Capital. (2010, background): “As noted above, there is both conceptual and empirical (e.g., see Bryant & Cvengros , 2004; Carifio & Rhodes, 2002; Magaletta & Oliver, 1999) support that the four positive psychological resources of hope, optimism, efficacy, and resilience have discriminant validity.”
POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL: MEASUREMENT AND RELATIONSHIP WITH PERFORMANCE AND SATISFACTION (2007, background): “…distinct from other positive constructs (Snyder, 2002 for a detailed analysis) and has been empirically demonstrated to have discriminant validity in relation to similar positive constructs (Bryant & Cvengros, 2004; Carifio & Rhodes, 2002; Magaletta & Oliver, 1999; Youssef & Luthans, in press).”
Career Adaptability, Hope, Optimism, and Life Satisfaction in Italian and Swiss Adolescents (2017, background): “…and optimism concerning the general outcome expectancy of positive future results and attitude to view and interpret situations and events positively— Bryant and Cvengros (2004) suggested that they can be considered as dual indicators of a single global dimension reflecting future orientation.”
Rumination and suicidal ideation: The moderating roles of hope and optimism (2013, background): “Although optimism and hope involve thinking about, and expectations for future events, Bryant and Cvengros (2004) argue that these two positive psychological variables are distinct, moderately intercorrelated constructs.”
Experimental Analysis of a Web-Based Training Intervention to Develop Positive Psychological Capital (2008, background): “…have been theoretically presented (e.g., see Luthans, Avolio et al., 2007; Snyder, 2002) and empirically demonstrated (e.g., Avey et al., 2006; Bryant & Cvengros, 2004; Carifio & Rhodes, 2002; Luthans, Avolio et al., 2007; Magaletta & Oliver, 1999; Youssef & Luthans, 2007) in the positive…”