Optimism, Hope and Subjective Well-Being: a Literature Overview

Yıl 2021, Sayı: 6, 61 - 74, 30.06.2021

Pınar Dursun

Öz

The field of subjective well-being (SWP) or happiness have received increasing attention in the psychology literature. This increased interest has led researchers to examine SWB in relation to a variety of psychological, social, and cultural variables, including optimism and hope. Undoubtedly, all these variables are critical components for mental health. SWB is specifically used as a general term which consists of life satisfaction, mental health and happiness from life. Although hopefulness has been occasionally used interchangeably with optimism, many studies revealed that they are related but different concepts. Optimism is defined as a general expectancy that good things will happen in the future, on the other hand, hope refers to the general cognitive-motivational variable including one’s belief in which one utilizes pathway thinking and agency thinking. In this study, we attempt to review the conecptualizations of SWB, optimism, and hope, and point out various recent studies on the relationships between SWB, hope, and optimism.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Subjective well-being, happiness, optimism, hope

Kaynakça

• Aspinwall, L. G. & Brunhart, S.M. (1996). Distinguishing optimism from denial: Optimistic beliefs predict attention to health threats. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 993-1003.
• Barnum, D. D., Snyder, C. R., Rapoff, M. A., Mani, M. M., Thompson, R. (1998). Hope and social support in the psychological adjustment of children who have survived burn injuries and their matched controls. Children’s Health Care, 27(1), 15-30.
• Ben-Zur, H. (2003). Happy adolescents: The link between subjective well-being, internal resources, and parental factors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 32(2), 67-79. doi:10.1023/A:1021864432505.
• Biswas-Diener, R., Kashdan, T.B., & King, L.A.(2009). Two traditions of happiness research, not two distinct types of happiness. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(3), 208-211.
• Brissette, I., Scheier, M.F., & Carver, C.S. (2002). The role of optimism in social network development, coping, and psychological adjustment during a life transition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(1), 102-111.
• Carr, A. (2011). Positive Psychology: The science of happiness and human strength (2nd ed.). New York & London: Routledge
• Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Segerstrom, S. C. (2010). Optimism. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 879-889.
• Carver, C. S., Smith, R. S., Antoni, M. H., Petronis, V. M., Weiss, S. & Derhagopian, R. P. (2005). Optimistic personality and psychosocial well-being among long-term survivors of breast cancer. Health Psychology, 24(5), 508-516.
• Chang, E. C., & Banks, K. H. (2007). The color and texture of hope: Some preliminary findings and implications for hope theory and counseling among diverse racial/ethnic groups. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 13(2), 94-103. doi: 10.1037/1099-9809.13.2.94
• Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1980). Influence of extraversion and neuroticism on subjective well-being: happy and unhappy people. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38(4), 668-678. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.38.4.668
• Deci, E. L. & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Hedonia, eudaimonia, and well-being: An introduction. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9, 1-11. DeNeve, K. M., & Cooper, H. (1998). The happy personality: A meta-analysis of 137 personality traits and subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 197-229.
• Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 34-43.
• Diener, E., & Diener, M. (2009). Cross-cultural correlates of life satisfaction and self-esteem. In Culture and Well-being (pp. 71-91). Springer Netherlands.
• Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49 (1), 71-75. doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa490113
• Diener, E., & Lucas, R. E. (2000). Subjective emotional well-being. In M. Lewis & J. M. Haviland (Eds.), Handbook of Emotions (2nd ed), pp. 191–213). New York: Guilford.
• Diener, E., Lucas, R.E., & Napa Scollon, C. (2006). Beyond the hedonic treadmill: Revising the adaptation theory of well-being. American Psychologist, 61(4), 305-314.
• Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Lucas, R. E. (2003). Personality, Culture, and Subjective well-being: Emotional and cognitive evaluations of life. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 403-425. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.54.101601.145056
• Diener, E., & Ryan, K. (2009). Subjective well-being: A general overview. South African Journal of Psychology, 39(4), 391-406.
• Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125(2), 276-302.
• Diener, E., Suh, E., & Oishi, S. (1997). Recent findings on subjective well-being. Indian Journal of Clinical Psychology, 24, 25-41.
• Duckworth, A. L., Steen, T. A., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2005). Positive psychology in clinical practice. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 1, 629-651.
• Durayappah, A. (2010). The 3P model: A general theory of subjective well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1-36. Emmons, R. A., & Diener, E. (1985). Personality correlates of subjective well-being. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 11(1), 89-97.
• Forgeard, M. J. C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2012). Seeing the glass half full: A review of the causes and consequences of optimism. Pratiques Psychologiques, 18(2), 107-120. doi: 10.1016/j.prps.2012.02.002
• Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218-226.
• Gallagher, M. W., & Lopez, S. J. (2009). Positive expectancies and mental health: Identifying the unique contributions of hope and optimism. Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(6), 548-556. doi: 10.1080/17439760903157166
• Gomez,V., Krings, F., Bangerter, A., & Grob, A. (2009). The influence of personality and life events of subjective well-being from a life span perspective. Journal of Research in Personality, 43, 345-354.
• Hayes, N., & Joseph, S. (2003). Big 5 correlates of three measures of subjective well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 34(4), 723-727. doi: 10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00057-0
• Ho, S., Rajandram, R. K., Chan, N., Samman, NN., & McGrath, C. (2011). The roles of hope and optimism on posttraumatic growth in oral cavity cancer patients. Oral Oncology, 47, 121-124.
• Kashdan, T.B., & Steger, M.F. (2007). Curiosity and pathways to well-being and meaning in life: Traits, states, and everyday behaviors. Motivation and Emotion, 31, 159-173. doi: 10.1007/s11031-007-9068-7
• Kashdan, T. B., Biswas-Diener, R., & King, L. A. (2008). Reconsidering happiness: the costs of distinguishing between hedonics and eudamonia. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 3(4), 219-233.
• Keyes, C., Shmothkin, D., & Ryff, C. (2002). Optimizing well-being: The empirical encounter of two traditions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(6), 1007-1022.
• Kraut, R. (2010). Aristotle’s ethics. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved June 21 2012, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/.
• Larson, R. (1989). Is feeling “in control” related to happiness in daily life?. Psychological Reports, 64(3), 775-784.
• Lightsey, O. R. Jr., & Boyraz, G. (2011). Do positive thinking and meaning mediate the positive affect-life satisfaction relationship? Canadian Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 43(3), 203-213. doi: 10.1037/a0023150
• Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9, 111–131.
• Magaletta, P.R. & Oliver, J.M. (1999). The hope construct, will, and ways: Their relations with self-efficacy, optimism, and general well-being. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 55(5), 539-551. Peterson, C. & Seligman, M. E. P. (1984). Causal explanations as a risk factor for depression: Theory and evidence. Psychological Review, 91, 347-374.
• Ryff, C. D. & Singer, B. (1998). Human health: New directions for the next millennium. Psychological Inquiry, 9(1), 69-85.
• Scheier, M.F., & Carver, C.S. (1985). Optimism, coping and health: Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies. Health Psychology, 4(3), 219-247. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.4.3.219
• Scheier, M.F. & Carver, C.S. (1993). On the power of positive thinking: the benefits of being optimistic. Current Directions of Psychological Science, 2(1), 26-30.
• Schneider, S.L. (2001). In search of realistic optimism: Meaning, knowledge, and warm fuzziness. American Psychologist, 56(3), 250-263.
• Segerstrom, S. C. (2005). Optimism and immunity: Do positive thoughts always lead to positive effects? Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 19(3), 195-200.
• Segerstrom, S. C. (2007). Optimism and resources: Effects on each other and on health over 10 years. Journal of Research in Personality, 41, 772-786.
• Shorey, H. S., Little, T. D., Snyder, C. R., Kluck, B., & Robitschek, C. (2007). Hope and personal growth initiative: A comparison of positive, future-oriented constructs. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 1917-1926. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2007.06.011
• Snyder, C.R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry: An International Journal for the Advancement of Psychological Theory, 13(4), 249-275. doi: 10.1207/S15327965PLI1304_01
• Snyder, C.R., Harris, C., Anderson, J. R., Holleran, S. A., Irving, L., Sigmon, S.T. et al. (1991). The will and the ways: development and validation of an individual-differences measure of hope. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 570-585. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.60.4.570
• Snyder, C.R., & Lopez, S. J. (2007). Positive Psychology: The Scientific and Practical Explorations of Human Strengths. US: Sage Publications, Inc.
• Steel, M. (2000). Oxford Wordpower Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Steel, P., Schmidt, J., & Shultz, J. (2008). Refining the relationship between personality and subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 134(1), 138 -161.
• Solberg Nes, L., & Segerstrom, S. C. (2006). Dispositional optimism and coping: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10(3), 235-251.
• Weinstein, N. D. (1980). Unrealistic optimism about future life events. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39(5), 806-820.
• Weinstein, N. D., Marcus, S. E. ,& Moser, R. P. (2005). Smokers’ unrealistic optimism about their risk. Tobacco Control, 14, 55-59.
• Wong, S. S., & Lim, T. (2009). Hope versus optimism in Singaporean adolescents: Contributions to depression and life satisfaction. Personality and Individual Differences, 46, 648-652. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2009.01.009