Patricia Bruininks had no idea she would study hope when she attended Hope College in Michigan as an undergraduate in the mid-1990s. Perhaps it was a sign, though, of where her path would take her.
It wasn't until she made her way to the University of Oregon for her doctorate in social psychology and was studying decision-making that she became curious about what are called "anticipatory" emotions — feelings like desire, want, wishing and hope.
"I thought how do emotions like hope or fear affect the decisions you make or even your decision-making strategies? Then I got interested in what exactly is hope and how do you define it and how is that different from optimism," Bruininks said.
So what defines hope? "It turns out hope gives you a little bit more license, there's more possibility; optimism is a bit more tied to reality — it's based on likelihood and probability." Think of it like this: While optimism may be seriously tamped down when the chances of success are minimal, we can still hold out a glimmer of hope.
As a professor at Whitworth University for 16 years, in addition to teaching courses like stats and senior thesis, Bruininks has created her own classes into which she says "hope is inherently woven," including Psychology of Poverty, Psychology of Emotion, and Psychology of Consumerism.
"I get bored really easily so I create courses," Bruininks says with a laugh. "I've been really lucky that I'm able to do that here."
Named most influential professor in 2010 and 2018, her courses are popular among students.
"I think what appeals to them so much about the topic [of hope] is how much they need it right now," she says. "It's especially relevant given the world today — climate change, the disrespect between political parties, the lack of trust in institutions — or really, what it will look like 30 years from now."
Bruininks, who has two grown sons and enjoys camping and photography, is also an avid traveler. She's led student trips to Tanzania to explore the psychology of poverty, including not only the effects of deficiencies in material goods, but also the spiritual and social implications for people experiencing poverty.
"I would see these [Tanzanian] kids just playing, and while they had so little, they were so joyful. The contrast was eye-opening. I just felt so bad for American children. Like we have so much, but yet we're so lacking," reflects Bruininks. "This joyfulness, I don't even see it in my life, yet I lead a very comfortable life."
To study poverty in the U.S. firsthand, a few years ago Bruininks conducted an "urban plunge" into the homelessness situation in Spokane. It was eye-opening for both the professor and her students. "Probably the best church service I've ever been to was at the House of Charity. They were the most real and raw people. It just blows your conception of what community means. I learned just how much I didn't know about that whole culture," she says.
"I am always moved by how powerful their stories are..."
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After the class, students expressed how the plunge changed their attitudes about people they otherwise would have avoided. "They would instead try to talk to them," Bruininks says. "It's just people being people, it's seeing similarities with people whom you think you couldn't be more different from."
Bruininks is looking forward to resuming her cross-cultural investigation into hope, with early-stage plans for returning to Tanzania. "I'm really interested in the language of hope, like what do we mean when we say we're 'hoping'? How do we communicate that with each other? How do other cultures communicate that? Or do they?" Bruininks says. "How we [in the U.S.] openly talk about emotion is really unusual worldwide. In some countries, it's just something that occurs between two people, and they're not open to sharing with strangers necessarily. I want to figure that out."
And she's looking forward to her consistently sold-out January term course, called Love, Altruism and Forgiveness. (Each January, Whitworth students spend the month focused on a single class.)
"Oh my gosh, I love that class," Bruininks says. "The class shows them the immense power of love, why love isn't perfect and how we connect this to hope. We look at altruism from an evolutionary perspective, and they — hopefully — gain an appreciation for its presence, not only in humans but also in animals. They explore why compassion is difficult to engage in at times. And they see the hope in forgiveness," Bruininks explains.
"On the last day of class, each person shares how they have seen love in their own lives. I am always moved by how powerful their stories are and how vulnerable they are willing to be with one another."
