Hope facts for kids

Allegory of hope; oil on canvas, Francesco Guardi, 1747

Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish a desire with anticipation".

Among its opposites are dejection, hopelessness and despair.

Hope theory

Auschwitz, a rose expressing hope

As a specialist in positive psychology, The psychologist Charles R. Snyder studied how hope and forgiveness can impact several aspects of life such as health, work, education, and personal meaning. He postulated that there are three main things that make up hopeful thinking:

• Goals – Approaching life in a goal-oriented way.
• Pathways – Finding different ways to achieve your goals.
• Agency – Believing that you can instigate change and achieve these goals.

In other words, hope was defined as the perceived capability to derive pathways to desired goals and motivate oneself via agency thinking to use those pathways.

Images for kids

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  A Syrian refugee girl with a hopeful expression

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  Hope, which lay at the bottom of the box, remained. Allegorical painting by George Frederic Watts, 1886

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  Engraving of Pandora trying to close the box that she had opened out of curiosity. At left, the evils of the world taunt her as they escape. The engraving is based on a painting by F. S. Church.

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  People collecting the miraculous water in Lourdes, France

See also

In Spanish: Esperanza para niños