The role of gender in the relationship between hope and primal beliefs

Abstract

Against the background of positive psychology, this study examines two conceptualisations of hope, namely dispositional hope and perceived hope, and their possible relationship with individual world beliefs (primal beliefs or primals) to better understand the complexities of human feeling, thought, and behaviour. A recent extensive scientifically motivated endeavor has identified 26 primals, and it has been hypothesised that primal world beliefs affect a variety of outcomes that are relevant to many psychological constructs. This study expands this exploration by examining the relationship between hope and primal beliefs and considers gender as a possible moderating variable in the relationship between hope and primal beliefs. Gender is an important universal psychological and social construct and defines an individual’s identification, identity, and social perception of being a woman or a man and could influence how an individual perceives and experiences hope and different beliefs. The South African data collected in 2021 and presented here, forms part of a yearly online cross-sectional survey, called the Hope-Barometer Survey. The sample consisted of 563 South African adults (53.8% female and 46.2% male), aged 18 to 75 (M = 38.87, SD = 14.52), and comprised of 279 white participants (49.6%), 268 black participants (47.6%), 8 Indian participants (1.4%), 5 coloured participants (.9%), and 3 participants who identified as ‘other’ race (.5%). Following the results of a correlation and multiple regression research analysis, the findings suggest that although a strong, positive relationship exists between hope and primal beliefs, the correlation is not moderated by gender. This implies that the strength and the direction of the relationship and the interaction between hope and primal beliefs are not influenced or dependent on gender. It is recommended that additional studies between hope and gender, primal beliefs and gender, and hope in relation to primals and other possible moderating demographics are considered and explored. This might open new scholarly directions and provide empirical ways to advance the trajectory of society and individual well-being.