Hope across cultures: Lessons from the International Hope Barometer
Journal
Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology
ISSN
2210-5417
ISBN
ISBN 978-3-031-24411-7
Type
book
Date Issued
2023-09-01
Author(s)
Krafft, Andreas
Editor(s)
Research Team
Hope Barometer International Research Program
Abstract
During the past few years, hope has received more and more attention from researchers in several disciplines. This book is not just an edited volume compiling unrelated contributions around the topic of hope. It is the result of many years of cooperative work performed by several researchers engaged in the Hope Barometer International Research Network. The Hope Barometer Research Program was cre-ated in 2009 as an annual cross-sectional survey that aimed at investigating the hopes and future expectations of the general population in several countries around the globe. Starting in Switzerland, the Hope Barometer expanded to an international research network bringing together researchers from universities in Australia, Colombia, Czechia, France, India, Israel, Italy, Malta, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, and Spain. Year after year, around 10,000 participants have been providing valuable insights for a deeper understanding of what and how people in different countries hope in daily life and, by doing so, experience the positive effects of a hopeful future orientation.
The universal and existential value as well as the culture-specific experiences and manifestations of hope can best be explored if we engage different scientific disciplines. Therefore, this book integrates the empirical results of the Hope Barom-eter with conceptual insights from positive psychology, philosophy, theology, futures studies, and risk management.
The Hope Barometer survey consists of a battery of validated scales, of which about half entail the core of the survey and the other half focus on a specific annual topic of interest. The main part of the survey that has been used consistently every year includes several items to assess future expectations in several life domains, the level of individual hopefulness, the targets and sources of hope, and variables to measure several dimensions of satisfaction and well-being. The other half of the survey has been selected each year based on two criteria: The first focus was dedicated to evaluating one particular element of the hope model that was developed following the transdisciplinary integration of insights from different disciplines. The second annual focus takes into consideration current social issues and challenges. In 2017, the special topics related to hope were about basic beliefs and assumptive
v
worldviews, as well as about meaning in life, helping others, harmony in life, and volunteering. In 2018, we concentrated the study of hope on human values, subjec-tive vitality, and flourishing. In 2019, the focus was on collective hope, long-term future trends, probable and desired future scenarios, and receiving and giving social support.
vi Preface
When we asked people in November 2019 about their expectations regarding long-term trends and future scenarios, we had no idea that in just a few months the largely gloomy prospects reported by the participants would become a painful reality. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic (and the war in the Ukraine), the world is no longer the same as it was a couple of years ago. Therefore, the surveys in 2020 and 2021 aimed at assessing the experiences of people during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing especially on how they perceived the stressful situations, how they coped with the new realities, and how they could remain hopeful and by doing so grow psychologically.
While our research findings provided fundamental insights for a better under-standing of the phenomenon of hope during the first years of the Hope Barometer, since 2020 the urgency and relevance of hope in times of crisis, full of uncertainty and profound changes, became apparent. In a time of social upheaval of all kinds, many people are asking themselves how things will and should continue in the future and what their own lives will look like. In many public interviews and lectures, we were able to share the knowledge of our cumulative work of more than ten years, and, thanks to it, provide encouragement and a hopeful view of the future. The positive feedback from all over the world has shown how profound the longing for the uplifting power of hope is. Hope is precisely not putting on rose-colored glasses. Hope means that we can and should wish for a better future for each of us, for our families, and for the world. Especially in times of crises, we can believe that a better future is possible, if we are able to trust in ourselves, in others, and in life, working together to achieve our more fervent wishes.
This book aims to reveal the importance of a hopeful attitude and of fundamental values and basic beliefs for the creation of a better future and to convey the conviction that everyone, no matter what the situation is, can hope for and contribute to this future. A better future can rarely be achieved by individuals alone, but almost exclusively in a community of hopers. One core message of the book is that hope is an essential part of life for every individual all over the globe and that each person can perceive and express hope in a very individual way. We trust that readers of this book will be encouraged to engage in activities and research to create personally meaningful futures.
Many people have contributed at one point or another to the creation of this book. First of all, we would like to thank the pioneers and members of the advisory board of the Hope Barometer Markus Baumgartner, Fritz Peyer-Müller, Andreas Walker, and Thomas Winkler and the “Stiftung Bildung und Forschung” for the continued support and encouragement over all these years. We also want to express our gratitude to all the reviewers who contributed to improve the quality of the individual
chapters. Tharina Guse would like to thank the University of Pretoria for funding the South African data collection in 2019. Furthermore, we would like to thank Cameron Johnson for the valuable technical editing work on the manuscripts.
The universal and existential value as well as the culture-specific experiences and manifestations of hope can best be explored if we engage different scientific disciplines. Therefore, this book integrates the empirical results of the Hope Barom-eter with conceptual insights from positive psychology, philosophy, theology, futures studies, and risk management.
The Hope Barometer survey consists of a battery of validated scales, of which about half entail the core of the survey and the other half focus on a specific annual topic of interest. The main part of the survey that has been used consistently every year includes several items to assess future expectations in several life domains, the level of individual hopefulness, the targets and sources of hope, and variables to measure several dimensions of satisfaction and well-being. The other half of the survey has been selected each year based on two criteria: The first focus was dedicated to evaluating one particular element of the hope model that was developed following the transdisciplinary integration of insights from different disciplines. The second annual focus takes into consideration current social issues and challenges. In 2017, the special topics related to hope were about basic beliefs and assumptive
v
worldviews, as well as about meaning in life, helping others, harmony in life, and volunteering. In 2018, we concentrated the study of hope on human values, subjec-tive vitality, and flourishing. In 2019, the focus was on collective hope, long-term future trends, probable and desired future scenarios, and receiving and giving social support.
vi Preface
When we asked people in November 2019 about their expectations regarding long-term trends and future scenarios, we had no idea that in just a few months the largely gloomy prospects reported by the participants would become a painful reality. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic (and the war in the Ukraine), the world is no longer the same as it was a couple of years ago. Therefore, the surveys in 2020 and 2021 aimed at assessing the experiences of people during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing especially on how they perceived the stressful situations, how they coped with the new realities, and how they could remain hopeful and by doing so grow psychologically.
While our research findings provided fundamental insights for a better under-standing of the phenomenon of hope during the first years of the Hope Barometer, since 2020 the urgency and relevance of hope in times of crisis, full of uncertainty and profound changes, became apparent. In a time of social upheaval of all kinds, many people are asking themselves how things will and should continue in the future and what their own lives will look like. In many public interviews and lectures, we were able to share the knowledge of our cumulative work of more than ten years, and, thanks to it, provide encouragement and a hopeful view of the future. The positive feedback from all over the world has shown how profound the longing for the uplifting power of hope is. Hope is precisely not putting on rose-colored glasses. Hope means that we can and should wish for a better future for each of us, for our families, and for the world. Especially in times of crises, we can believe that a better future is possible, if we are able to trust in ourselves, in others, and in life, working together to achieve our more fervent wishes.
This book aims to reveal the importance of a hopeful attitude and of fundamental values and basic beliefs for the creation of a better future and to convey the conviction that everyone, no matter what the situation is, can hope for and contribute to this future. A better future can rarely be achieved by individuals alone, but almost exclusively in a community of hopers. One core message of the book is that hope is an essential part of life for every individual all over the globe and that each person can perceive and express hope in a very individual way. We trust that readers of this book will be encouraged to engage in activities and research to create personally meaningful futures.
Many people have contributed at one point or another to the creation of this book. First of all, we would like to thank the pioneers and members of the advisory board of the Hope Barometer Markus Baumgartner, Fritz Peyer-Müller, Andreas Walker, and Thomas Winkler and the “Stiftung Bildung und Forschung” for the continued support and encouragement over all these years. We also want to express our gratitude to all the reviewers who contributed to improve the quality of the individual
chapters. Tharina Guse would like to thank the University of Pretoria for funding the South African data collection in 2019. Furthermore, we would like to thank Cameron Johnson for the valuable technical editing work on the manuscripts.
Language
English
Keywords
Hope
Future Thinking
Collective Hope
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Book title
Hope across cultures: Lessons from the International Hope Barometer
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Volume
14
Subject(s)
Division(s)
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
Hope Across Cultures final.pdf
Size
8.02 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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