Developing Hope in the Social Context: Alternative Perspectives of Motive, Meaning, and Identity

C. R. Snyder, J. Cheavens, and S. C. Sympson (1997) presented a developmental model of hope embedded within a social-cognitive framework. This is a feature common to most contemporary theories of reality negotiation processes. However, in this comment on the Snyder et al. piece, the authors believe that there are alternative accounts of the goal-directed behavior associated with hope that warrant consideration. They briefly describe these competing accounts available in Kohutian self psychology and in multicultural models of behavior. They note points of convergence and divergence, along with implications for clinical practice and theory-driven research.