Editorial : The psychology of hope

Abstract

Since the inception of the field of positive psychology, with its interest in understanding factors that make people thrive, hope has featured prominently. Hope is essentially about thoughts, emotions and behaviors related to the future. How individuals view the future, will also influence how they act in the present (Pleeging et al., 2022). Hope thus offers a mechanism for navigating adversity and envisioning possibility, making it an important construct in furthering knowledge and developing interventions to promote wellbeing. However, as the field of positive psychology matures into its third wave and beyond (Lomas et al., 2021; Wissing, 2022) there are calls to revisit our understanding of key wellbeing concepts. More specifically, (van Zyl and Dik 2025) proposed a paradigm shift in examining positive psychology constructs and processes, arguing for a move toward person-centered, ideographic, bottom-up approaches that are more inclusive and context-sensitive. It may be an opportune time to consider hope research against this backdrop.