June 18, 2025
Contact: Eric Stann, StannE@missouri.edu

Hope isn’t just wishful thinking — it’s a powerful emotional force that gives our lives meaning. Now, a new groundbreaking study from the University of Missouri shows it may be even more essential to well-being than happiness or gratitude.

For years, psychology has tied hope to goal-setting and motivation. But a team of researchers led by Megan Edwards and Laura King from Mizzou’s Department of Psychological Sciences is challenging that idea, showing that hope stands apart as one of the strongest positive emotions that directly fosters a sense of meaning.

"Our research shifts the perspective on hope from merely a cognitive process related to goal attainment to recognizing it as a vital emotional experience that enriches life's meaning," said Edwards, who earned a doctorate at Mizzou and is now a postdoctoral scholar at Duke University. “This insight opens new avenues for enhancing psychological well-being.”

This story originally appeared on Show Me Mizzou. 
Want more stories like this? Subscribe to the Show Me Mizzou Newsletter.