Psychology of Encouragement

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TCPXXX10.1177/0011000014545091The Counseling PsychologistWong
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2015, Vol. 43(2) 178–216
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Y. Joel Wong1
Abstract
Despite the frequent use of encouragement in everyday social life,
encouragement remains an understudied topic in positive psychology and
counseling psychology. To address this gap, this article resolves ambiguity in
terminology and synthesizes diverse streams of theorizing and research to
propose an integrative psychological science of encouragement. The author
offers a definition of encouragement, delineates its conceptual boundaries, and
proposes a conceptual model that provides a taxonomy of encouragement
processes. Known as the Tripartite Encouragement Model (TEM), this model
charts the foci, features, and levels of encouragement. Encouragement is
conceptualized, at different levels, as an act of interpersonal communication,
a character strength, as well as an ecological group norm. The author
explains how encouragement can enhance the quality of counseling practice
as well as practical applications in other areas of psychology. Finally, the
author delineates how the TEM can guide future research on the psychology
of encouragement.
Keywords
encouragement, positive psychology, social support, Adler
1Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA
Corresponding Author:
Y. Joel Wong, Indiana University Bloomington, 201 N. Rose Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405,
USA.
Email: [email protected]
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Wong 179
A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise

after success.
—Unknown (Morris, 2012)
From everyday conversations between romantic partners to pep talks

given by a basketball coach, to discussions on online community forums,
encouragement is ubiquitous in everyday social life. Encouragement is one of
the most common ways through which individuals express support for one
another (e.g., Beets, Cardinal, & Alderman, 2010; Hwang et al., 2011; Jose &
Bellamy, 2012). Encouragement is also a prominent theme in several self-
help books (e.g., Maxwell, 2008), including those on enhancing marital sat-
isfaction (Rainey & Rainey, 2010) and leadership skills (Dinkmeyer &
Eckstein, 1996). Moreover, in the parenting and family science literature,
encouragement is considered a key process through which parents provide
support to their young children (Roggman, Cook, Innocenti, Jump Norman,
& Christiansen, 2013) and family resilience is fostered (Walsh, 2003). In
addition, several religious traditions extol the virtue of encouragement. In the
New Testament Bible, the Apostle Paul exhorts Christians to encourage one
another, particularly those who are disheartened (1 Thessalonians 5:11-15).
In the same vein, Sangharakshita (1991), a Buddhist teacher, encourages
Buddhists to provide and receive encouragement from members of one’s
spiritual community. Although not always explicitly articulated, many coun-
seling psychology applications also involve the use of encouragement, given
counseling psychologists’ historical embrace of human strengths (Gelso &
Woodhouse, 2003)—that is, encouragement is embedded within several
strength-based approaches to counseling (Scheel, Davis, & Henderson, 2013;
Smith, 2006; Wong, 2006a) and supervision (Edwards, 2013) recommended
by counseling psychologists.
Despite the pervasiveness and practical relevance of encouragement, the
psychology of encouragement has had a somewhat checkered past. As will be
demonstrated in this article, the conceptual boundaries of encouragement as a
construct remain fuzzy and are in need of clarification. Moreover, research and
applications on encouragement over the past few decades have been inconsis-
tent and scattered across diverse fields of inquiry, such as Adlerian psychology
(e.g., Watts & Pietrzak, 2000), the literature on self-efficacy and verbal persua-
sion (Bandura, 1997), and the social support literature (e.g., Kratz, Wong, &
Vaughan, 2013). There has not been any attempt to evaluate, classify, and syn-
thesize these diverse streams of scholarship under a unifying conceptual
umbrella. Moreover, although several handbooks on positive psychology have

180 The Counseling Psychologist 43(2)
been published in recent years (e.g., Lopez & Snyder, 2009; Sheldon, Kashdan,
& Steger, 2011), none included a chapter on encouragement. Notably, the psy-
chology of encouragement has not been linked to the science of positive psy-
chology, especially the psychology of character strengths and virtues (Peterson
& Park, 2009; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000).
Therefore, this article seeks to address these gaps in the literature. I have
two main objectives—first, to evaluate and consolidate previous theorizing
and research to propose an integrative psychology of encouragement; and
second, to delineate the relevance of encouragement to counseling practice. I
begin with a critical review of psychological scholarship on encouragement
and propose a definition and the conceptual boundaries of encouragement. I
define encouragement as the expression of affirmation through language or
other symbolic representations to instill courage, perseverance, confidence,
inspiration, or hope in a person(s) within the context of addressing a chal-
lenging situation or realizing a potential. I then discuss empirical findings on
encouragement, including studies that address multicultural considerations
related to gender, race, and culture. I further propose a conceptual model of
encouragement processes to aid future research and applications on encour-
agement. This model explicates three facets of encouragement—features,
foci, and levels of encouragement. Next, I articulate the relevance of encour-
agement to counseling and discuss how the model can be used to enhance the
quality of counseling practice. I conclude with recommendations for non-
counseling applications (e.g., preventive interventions) as well as future
research in counseling psychology and other areas of psychology.
Definition and Conceptual Boundaries

Alfred Adler (1956) was arguably the first psychologist to theorize on encour-
agement; he considered encouragement a core feature of human development
and of any psychotherapeutic treatment. Adler believed that human beings
are intrinsically oriented toward social interest—a desire to belong and con-
tribute to others and society. When people lose social interest, they need
encouragement, especially with regard to engaging others (Main & Boughner,
2011). Indeed, Adlerian psychologist Dreikurs (1971) considered the ability
to encourage others as the single most important attribute in getting along
with other people.
Adlerian scholars have elucidated the construct of encouragement in two
ways—encouragement can refer to a social phenomenon or to an individual’s
way of being. Used in the first sense of the word, encouragement has not been
consistently defined by Adlerian scholars. Sweeney (2009), an Adlerian psy-
chotherapist, explained that “to provide encouragement is to inspire or help

Wong 181
others, particularly toward a conviction that they can work on finding solu-
tions and that they can cope with any predicament” (p. 90). In contrast,
Nikelly and Dinkmeyer (1971) defined encouragement as a non-verbal atti-
tude that communicates esteem and worth to an individual. Dinkmeyer and
Losoncy (1996) provided a broad definition that has been commonly cited by
Adlerian scholars: “encouragement is the process of facilitating the develop-
ment of a persons’ inner resources and courage toward positive movement”
(p. 7). Adlerian scholars have elucidated a wide range of encouragement
skills, including reflective listening, use of humor, communicating faith in
others, smiling, non-verbal acceptance of others, expressing genuineness,
pointing out others’ strengths, positive reframing, and validating others’ goals
(Carns & Carns, 2006; Dinkmeyer & Losoncy, 1996; Perman, 1975; Sherman
& Dinkmeyer, 2014). For Adlerian scholars, the goal of encouragement is not
simply to change behavior but to instill courage and confidence to change;
therefore, Adlerian practitioners assert that their focus is more on modifying
individuals’ motivation than on modifying behavior (Sweeney, 2009). Carns
and Carns (2006) have documented the applications of encouragement skills
in a wide range of interventions, including teacher education, classroom
management, enhancing student performance, marriage and family therapy,
and career counseling.
Grounded in humanistic psychology, the second meaning of encourage-
ment embraced by Adlerian scholars focuses on the core features of a fully
functioning person (Adler, 1931/1958; Evans, Dedrick, & Epstein, 1997).
For instance, Evans et al. proposed four dimensions of encouragement: (a) a
positive view of oneself, (b) a positive view of others, (c) being open to expe-
riences, and (d) a sense of belonging to others (also, see Phelps, Tranakos-
Howe, Dagley, & Lyn, 2001). Similarly, Dagley, Campbell, Kulic, and
Dagley (1999) developed a measure for children that assessed three dimen-
sions of encouragement: a positive view of the self, a sense of belonging, and
the courage to be imperfect.
Adlerian scholars are to be commended for being the first psychologists to
draw attention to the construct of encouragement. In particular, a key strength
of Adlerian theorizing on encouragement is its emphasis on cultivating indi-
viduals’ inner resources and increasing motivation rather than simply modi-
fying behavior (Azoulay, 1999; Sweeney, 2009); these concepts serve as a
foil to a strictly behavioral view of human development (Carns & Carns,
2006) and may have been a forerunner to cognitive approaches to psycho-
therapy (Sperry, 2003).
Nevertheless, Adlerian concepts of encouragement may be too broad to be
conceptually meaningful. The conceptualization of encouragement as a way
of being that includes dimensions such as being open to experiences and the

courage to be imperfect (e.g., Dagley et al., 1999; Phelps et al., 2001) approx-
imates Carl Rogers’ (1951) concept of self-actualization. However, such a
conceptualization differs from the way encouragement is typically operation-
alized in other areas of psychology (e.g., Beets et al., 2010), which focuses on
encouragement as an interpersonal act of social support or influence.
Similarly, the Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford University Press, 2014) adopts an
interpersonal meaning of encouragement by defining it as “the action of giv-
ing someone support, confidence, or hope.”
Although Adlerian scholars also use the word encouragement to refer to
an act of interpersonal communication, the aforementioned definition pro-
vided by Dinkmeyer and Losoncy (1996), as well as the range of skills asso-
ciated with this definition (e.g., reflective listening), is so sweeping that it
overlaps with other related interpersonal constructs, such as empathy (Elliott,
Bohart, Watson, & Greenberg, 2011). Not surprisingly, Adlerian scholars
Carns and Carns (2006) acknowledged that encouragement can mean differ-
ent things to different people. I argue that for encouragement to be a psycho-
logically meaningful construct, it needs to have clearly defined conceptual
boundaries. Such conceptual clarity can aid in developing instruments to
assess encouragement and in establishing the construct validity of encourage-
ment in future research. In this regard, construct validity includes distin-
guishing encouragement from other psychological constructs, as well as
demonstrating its unique influence on other outcomes (e.g., psychological
well-being) beyond the effects of other constructs (e.g., empathy).
Therefore, in this article, I provide a narrower definition of encouragement.
I draw from several Adlerian concepts, while also imposing conceptual bound-
aries that may help distinguish encouragement from other constructs. At its
most basic level, encouragement is the expression of affirmation through lan-
guage or other symbolic representations to instill courage, perseverance, confi-
dence, inspiration, or hope in a person(s) within the context of addressing a
challenging situation or realizing a potential. Several features of this definition
should be noted. First, encouragement must be expressed in language or other
symbolic representations (e.g., art or hand gestures) to someone else. Non-
language symbolic representations can only be meaningfully used to commu-
nicate encouragement when both the encourager and the recipient have a
common understanding of the meaning attached to the symbolic representa-
tions. For example, in the context of a romantic relationship, both partners may
develop a mutual understanding that a thumbs-up gesture represents one part-
ner’s confidence in the other partner’s ability to succeed. This article’s review
of the literature on encouragement will focus mainly on language-based expres-
sions of encouragement, given that that has been the focus of most psychologi-
cal empirical research on encouragement (e.g., Hwang et al., 2011).

Wong 183
The requirement that encouragement needs to be communicated in lan-

guage or other symbolic representations to another person underscores its
uniqueness from other related positive psychological constructs. One might
have positive thoughts or warm feelings toward another person, but these do
not qualify as encouragement if they are not communicated to the other per-
son. In contrast, several other positive psychological constructs, such as grat-
itude, empathy, and compassion, can be legitimately experienced as emotions
(e.g., one can feel grateful) without the need for interpersonal communica-
tion. The requirement of language or other symbolic representations also
underscore differences between encouragement and other types of social sup-
port. Although encouragement can be conceptualized as a form of social sup-
port (Helgeson & Cohen, 1996), it differs from other non-linguistic forms of
social support, such as companionship (e.g., accompanying a family member
to the doctor) and instrumental support (e.g., providing practical help to a
friend; Thoits, 2011). A distinction can also be drawn between the experience
of being encouraged and the provision of encouragement. The definition of
encouragement in this article focuses on the latter. Therefore, even though
individuals might feel encouraged without the presence of any interpersonal
communication (e.g., “I felt encouraged when I saw the sun rise”), encour-
agement cannot be provided without interpersonal communication.
Second, this article’s definition incorporates Adlerian notions of encour-
agement that focus on affirmations to instill courage, perseverance, confi-
dence, inspiration, or hope (Main & Boughner, 2011). Although
encouragement can be expressed through praise and persuasion, encourage-
ment is not identical to these latter constructs. Praise refers to communicating
positive evaluations of another person’s characteristics, performance, or
products (Henderlong & Lepper, 2002). Although, like encouragement,
praise involves the expression of affirmation, praise may not necessarily be
intended to instill courage, perseverance, confidence, inspiration, or hope in
another person. For example, praise that is merely offered as a form of con-
gratulations would not be considered encouragement. Moreover, praise can
be offered merely as feedback for something done in the past (e.g., “Good job
on the presentation!”), whereas encouragement always has a present or future
orientation. Even when a statement of encouragement refers to a past achieve-
ment, the ultimate goal of encouragement is to serve as a stimulus that either
strengthens or develops positive motivation, cognitions, emotions, or behav-
ior (Azoulay, 1999), for example, “You have been working very hard on your
math problems; keep up the good work because I know you’re going to do
well on the test!”
In the same vein, although encouragement can be conceptualized as a
form of persuasion in that the encourager intends to influence the recipient’s

attitudes or behavior, not all forms of persuasion are directed at instilling

courage, perseverance, confidence, inspiration, or hope in others or are affir-
mative. At its core, encouragement is an expression of affirmation—that is,
encouragement communicates a positive message about the recipient (e.g.,
her or his character strengths), the recipient’s products or actions (e.g., “Your
presentation was so inspiring; have you ever considered a career in teach-
ing?”), or the recipient’s situation (e.g., “Your son will eventually realize how
much you love him”). Affirmations may also be explicit (e.g., “I have confi-
dence in you!”) or implicit (e.g., counselors asking clients a series of ques-
tions about their strengths to instill confidence). In contrast, persuasion is
broader in scope and can be negative (e.g., warnings, demands, threats, and
nagging; Stephens, Rook, Franks, Khan, & Iida, 2010), affirmative (e.g., “I
believe you can succeed”), or neutral. Neutral forms of persuasion (which do
not include affirmations; for example, “Keep working on what you’re doing”)
are best conceptualized as exhortations rather than as encouragement, as
defined in this article.
In addition, a large body of literature from the social psychology of influ-
ence delineates the mechanisms through which social influence professionals
(e.g., marketing professionals) persuade others to comply with requests (e.g.,
Briñol & Petty, 2012; Cialdini & Griskevicius, 2010); yet, such forms of
persuasion are often motivated by the benefits that accrue to the persuader
(e.g., the sale of a product) and are not primarily intended to instill courage,
perseverance, confidence, inspiration, or hope in the recipient of persuasion.
In contrast, expressions of encouragement are motivated by the welfare of the
recipient.
Third, as encapsulated in this article’s definition, encouragement can
either be challenge-focused or potential-focused. As reflected in the quote at
the beginning of this article and in Adlerian concepts of encouragement
(Azoulay, 1999; Sweeney, 2009), encouragement is often provided to indi-
viduals involved in challenging situations. Examples include general life
stress, mental or physical illness, indecisiveness about life choices, sitting for
academic tests, competitive sports, or other activities that require substantial
effort or exertion. In this regard, encouragement involves instilling strengths
that may potentially address the recipient’s perceived limitations. For
instance, the instillation of courage reduces fear, perseverance combats a
desire to give up, confidence addresses low self-efficacy, inspiration resolves
a lack of motivation or creativity, and hope decreases pessimism about the
future. However, encouragement can also be offered outside the context of
challenging circumstances where the focus is on realizing a potential instead
of addressing a problem. In such instances, the encourager communicates her
or his recognition of a potential in a situation or in the recipient. An example

Wong 185
would be when the encourager provides an unsolicited suggestion to the

recipient to engage in a fulfilling task that will realize the recipient’s potential
(e.g., “I know you’ve never thought of grad school before, but I think you’re
capable of exceling as a grad student”). Having provided a definition and
delineated the conceptual boundaries of encouragement, I now discuss
empirical findings on encouragement.
Empirical Findings on Encouragement

Adlerian Encouragement
Studies on encouragement based on Adlerian conceptions of encouragement
are sometimes difficult to evaluate because of a lack of consistency in the
meaning of encouragement across studies. Some Adlerian studies have dem-
onstrated the psychosocial benefits of encouragement based (at least in part)
on the humanistic notion of encouragement as a way of being that includes
dimensions such as a positive view of oneself and being open to experiences
(Evans et al., 1997; Phelps et al., 2001). Other studies focus on the experience
of being encouraged (e.g., “What encourages you in school?”) without the
necessity of interpersonal communications (Superstein, 1994). Such studies
operationalize encouragement in ways that fall outside the definition of
encouragement in this article. In contrast, some Adlerian scholars have
focused on the interpersonal aspect of encouragement in their research. For
example, a line of research on the distinction between praise and encourage-
ment showed that children rated a teacher’s use of encouragement more
favorably than a teacher’s use of praise (Kelly & Daniels, 1997), that girls
exhibited a higher preference for encouragement versus praise than boys
(Pety, Kelly, & Kafafy, 1984), and that an internal locus of control was related
to fourth- and sixth-grade students’ preference for encouragement versus
praise (Kelly, 2002).
Social Support
Empirical findings on encouragement can also be found in the social support
literature, given that encouragement has been explicitly identified as a form
of social support—and more specifically, a type of emotional support
(Helgeson & Cohen, 1996). Many studies in the social support literature
involve the provision of encouragement to support individuals’ health behav-
ior (Kratz et al., 2013). Several studies attest to the ubiquity of encourage-
ment as an expression of social support. A study on an Internet weight loss
community demonstrated that encouragement (e.g., encouragement not to

give up one’s weight loss goals) was by far the most frequent type of weight
loss social support reported by participants (Hwang et al., 2011). A system-
atic review of the empirical literature on parental social support for their chil-
dren’s participation in healthy physical activities (66 studies) found that
encouragement was the most widely studied type of parental support (31
studies; Beets et al., 2010). The vast majority of these studies demonstrated
that parental encouragement was positively related to children’s healthy
physical activity outcomes, leading the authors to conclude that encourage-
ment may be one of the most influential types of parental support. In other
research, encouragement from family members has been found to be posi-
tively associated with adherence to a healthy diet (Sallis, Grossman, Pinski,
Patterson, & Nader, 1987; Stephens et al., 2010).
Verbal Persuasion
Albert Bandura’s (1997) seminal theory on self-efficacy includes four sources
of self-efficacy, one of which is verbal persuasion. Verbal persuasion (also
known as social persuasion) refers to what people say to others regarding
their belief about what others can or cannot do and can strengthen or dampen
others’ beliefs about their capabilities (Bandura, 1997). Although Bandura’s
concept of verbal persuasion is not identical to encouragement because it
includes both positive and negative persuasion (e.g., “I doubt you can suc-
ceed”), studies that have tested this concept have mostly operationalized it to
include positive rather than negative persuasion. Studies on students’ aca-
demic self-efficacy have shown that receiving verbal encouragement with
regard to a particular subject was positively related to mathematics self-effi-
cacy among college students (Lent, Lopez, & Bieschke, 1991), math and
French self-efficacy among French elementary school students (Joët, Usher,
& Bressoux, 2011), and science self-efficacy in middle school students (Kıran
& Sungur, 2012), after controlling for other sources of self-efficacy.
Beyond the domain of academics, Neff, Niessen, Sonnentag, and Unger
(2013) found that among German working couples, one partner’s job self-
efficacy was positively related to the other partner’s job self-efficacy and that
the partner’s verbal persuasion was a mediator of this association. In a differ-
ent study, S. L. Anderson and Betz (2001) showed that college students’
experiences of verbal persuasion (e.g., “I received encouragement to social-
ize as a child”) was positively associated with self-efficacy in engaging in
social interactions, after controlling for other sources of self-efficacy.
Beyond correlational studies, several experimental studies have tested the
effects of verbal persuasion on other outcomes. In one study (Luzzo & Taylor,
1993), college students who were randomly assigned to receive verbal

Wong 187
persuasion from a counselor indicating that they possessed sufficient skills

and opportunities to make effective career decisions reported greater career
decision-making self-efficacy than those who did not receive verbal persua-
sion. In another study, both female and male undergraduates performed better
on mental rotation tasks when they received encouragement that was purport-
edly from a peer (e.g., “If you concentrate and try, it can be done well”) as
compared with a no-encouragement group (Brownlow, Janas, Blake,
Rebadow, & Mellon, 2011).
Multicultural Considerations
Although encouragement is theorized to be relevant across diverse groups of
people, the expression, frequency, and importance of encouragement likely
vary across gender, racial groups, and culture. There is some preliminary
evidence suggesting that encouragement might be relatively more important
to the success and well-being of women, minority groups, and some non-
Western cultures. A qualitative study by Zeldin and Pajares (2000) revealed
that women who exceled in math, scientific, and technological careers per-
ceived that the confidence significant others (e.g., teachers, parents) expressed
in their abilities was the most important factor contributing to their self-effi-
cacy beliefs influencing their career choices. The authors argued that many
women value relationships as the foundation for their identities, and there-
fore, the confidence expressed by significant others was more important than
their own mastery experiences in building self-efficacy. Similarly, racial
minority individuals who routinely face discrimination might rely more on
positive social messages from significant others to build their self-confidence
(Sue & Constantine, 2003). Aligning with these perspectives, Usher and
Pajares (2006) demonstrated that among sixth-grade students, verbal persua-
sion from others was a significant positive predictor of academic self-effi-
cacy for girls and African Americans, but not for boys and non-Latino White
Americans.
Similarly, individuals from non-Western collectivistic cultures might
define themselves more strongly in terms of their relationships with others
(Tweed & Conway, 2006) and may, therefore, be more open to the influence
of encouragement provided from significant others. Lin and Flores (2013)
found that among East Asian international graduate students, verbal persua-
sion from others (e.g., professors, family) was the only source of self-efficacy
that was both directly and positively related to job search self-efficacy and
indirectly related to positive job search behaviors. The authors speculated
that these findings reflect the notion that East Asians may highly value the
opinions of important people in their lives.

Cultural beliefs might also influence the value of encouragement in instill-

ing perseverance in others. Because Asians may have stronger beliefs in the
utility of effort in fostering success than Westerners (see Tweed & Conway,
2006, for a review), Asian parents may be potentially more adept in encour-
aging their children to persevere and work hard. In a cross-national study
(Jose & Bellamy, 2012), Chinese and Japanese parents’ use of encourage-
ment when their young children encountered failure mediated the positive
association between parents’ incremental theory of intelligence (belief that
intelligence could be fostered through hard work) and their children’s persis-
tence on difficult academic tasks. In contrast, parents’ use of encouragement
was not a significant mediator among families in the United States and New
Zealand.
Summary and Critique

To summarize, the extant research provides preliminary evidence for the ben-
efits of receiving encouragement from others as well as potential cross-
gender, cross-racial, and cross-cultural differences in the use and impact of
encouragement. However, three caveats are noteworthy. These findings
should be interpreted with caution because encouragement and the constructs
associated with encouragement were sometimes operationalized or measured
in ways that differed from the definition of encouragement used in this arti-
cle. For instance, the measures used to assess encouragement in the social
support and verbal persuasion literature sometimes include items that would
be considered neutral forms of persuasions rather than affirmations (e.g.,
refer to the scale items in Sallis and colleagues’ 1987 study on encourage-
ment to adhere to a healthy diet).
Another limitation is that the aforementioned studies on encouragement
focused on the effects of encouragement rather than on the types of encour-
agement. No known study has explicitly distinguished between the two types
of encouragement identified in this article’s definition, namely, encourage-
ment that is directed at a challenging situation versus encouragement that
helps to realize a potential. Furthermore, research has yet to identify whether
certain types of encouragement are more frequently expressed in certain cul-
tural groups versus other cultural groups. It is also likely that some types of
encouragement might be more effective than others. Indeed, Bandura (1997)
proposed three factors that influence the effectiveness of verbal persuasion in
strengthening self-efficacy: (a) effective framing of one’s feedback (e.g.,
emphasizing the progress recipients have made), (b) the credibility of the
persuader, and (c) the degree of disparity between the persuader and the
recipient’s beliefs about the recipient’s abilities. Nevertheless, researchers

Wong 189
have focused more on the effects of verbal persuasion on self-efficacy rather

than on identifying the types of verbal persuasion that are most effective in
fostering self-efficacy.
Finally, Bandura’s (1997) notion that some types of verbal persuasion
(and by implication, encouragement) may be more effective than others
raises several intriguing questions: Are some people more effective encour-
agers than others? And at an ecological level, do some families, organiza-
tions, and countries exhibit stronger norms of encouragement than others?
Yet, as indicated in the aforementioned review of the literature, the psychol-
ogy of encouragement has focused more on the effects of individuals receiv-
ing encouragement rather than on the encourager or on group norms on
encouragement. In the following sections, I address these limitations by argu-
ing that encouragement is not just as an act of interpersonal communication
but also an ecological variable (a group norm) and a character strength.
Psychology of Character Strengths and Virtues

Although counseling psychology has a long tradition of highlighting indi-
viduals’ strengths (Lopez et al., 2006; Super, 1955), the empirical study of
character strengths and virtues has been largely absent throughout much of
psychology’s history (including that of counseling psychology; Gelso &
Fassinger, 1992) until the advent of the positive psychology movement
(Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). McCullough and Synder defined a
virtue or character strength as “any psychological process that consistently
enables a person to think and act so as to yield benefits to himself or herself
and society” (p. 3). (Although positive psychologists have provided contrast-
ing explanations of the differences between character strength and virtues
[see McCullough & Snyder, 2000, and Peterson & Seligman, 2004], in this
article the two terms are used interchangeably.) Character strengths and vir-
tues share a number of common characteristics: They (a) are morally valued
in their own right and not just as a means to an end, (b) have trait-like attri-
butes (i.e., individual differences that exhibit some measure of stability across
situations and time), (c) can be modified (e.g., people can cultivate habits to
become more generous, patient, and courageous), (d) address the question of
the kind of person one should be rather than simply what one should do, and
(e) are embodied in paragons who are well-known for their positive demon-
strations of these strengths (McCullough & Snyder, 2000; Niemiec, 2013;
Peterson & Park, 2009; Sandage & Hill, 2001).
Several classifications of character strengths and virtues have been pro-
posed by positive psychologists. Peterson and Seligman’s (2004) classifica-
tion scheme based on their Values in Action (VIA) project includes 24

character strengths classified under six core virtues—wisdom, courage,

humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. Similarly, Clifton and his
colleagues at the Gallup Organization have proposed 34 talent themes (Rath,
2007), whereas researchers at the Search Institute (e.g., Benson, 2003) have
identified 40 developmental assets for healthy adolescent development, some
of which (e.g., integrity, honesty) resemble character strengths. Nevertheless,
to date, the psychology of encouragement has not been integrated with the
psychology of character strengths and virtues. Some of the previously men-
tioned classifications of virtues include strengths that overlap somewhat with
encouragement. For instance, encouragement can be conceptualized as an
expression of the character strength of kindness; nevertheless, encourage-
ment is narrower in scope than kindness because it is uniquely expressed
through language or other symbolic representations, whereas acts of kindness
can include other types of behavior (e.g., carrying groceries for a person;
Layous, Nelson, Oberle, Schonert-Reichl, & Lyubomirsky, 2012).
Importantly, none of the aforementioned classifications of strengths explic-
itly addresses encouragement.
This omission of encouragement from the psychology of character
strengths and virtues is striking, given that encouragement fits the criteria for
what constitutes a character strength (Niemiec, 2013; Peterson & Park, 2009).
For example, it can be argued that the ability to encourage others is generally
regarded as a positive attribute, that there are individual differences in encour-
agement (some individuals are better encouragers than others), and that
despite these individual differences, individuals can be trained to become
more encouraging toward others. Similar to the way other character strengths
have been conceptualized (Peterson & Seligman, 2004), it is proposed that
individuals who strongly possess the virtue of encouragement tend to enjoy
providing encouragement to others, are good at doing so, and do so fre-
quently. In the following section, I discuss the implications of conceptualiz-
ing encouragement as a character strength.
Tripartite Encouragement Model (TEM)

To address limitations in the foregoing literature as well as to synthesize
diverse streams of scholarship on encouragement under a unifying conceptual
umbrella, I propose a model that provides a taxonomy of encouragement pro-
cesses to guide future research and applications. The conceptual basis of this
model is drawn in part from the psychology of character strengths and virtues
(e.g., Sandage & Hill, 2001), Bandura’s (1997) concept of verbal persuasion,
and some Adlerian conceptual insights on encouragement (e.g., Carns &
Carns, 2006; Kelly, 2002). Known as the TEM, this model delineates three

Wong 191
Table 1. Tripartite Encouragement Model.
Facets Examples
Facet 1: Foci of encouragement
1. Challenge-focused “The situation is not as bad as it looks.
And I know things will improve.”
2. Potential-focused “Have you ever considered a career in
statistics? I know you’ll be really good!”
Facet 2: Features of effective encouragement
1. Framing of Effective encouragement messages focus
encouragement message on positive aspects of the recipient’s
progress, attitude, strategies, and effort.
2. Perceived The recipient views the encourager as an
trustworthiness of expert or as someone who knows her
encourager or him well.
3. Perceived credibility of Recipients are likely to perceive messages
encouragement message that are sincere and realistic as credible.
Facet 3: Levels of encouragement
1. Interpersonal Communicating an affirmation to instill
communication confidence in a person who is feeling
discouraged.
2. Character strength Some individuals are better encouragers
than others.
3. Group norm Some organizations have a strong culture
of encouragement than others.
facets of encouragement processes—foci, features, and levels of encourage-

ment (see Table 1). Although several propositions within this model have yet
to be empirically tested, they can serve as a framework for research questions
to be addressed in the future.
Facet 1: Foci of Encouragement

Facet 1 of the TEM acknowledges the two possible foci of encouragement
reflected in this article’s definition of encouragement—challenge-focused
encouragement is directed at recipients facing difficult circumstances, whereas
potential-focused encouragement is communicated to help realize a potential
(see example in Table 1). This distinction is important because some individu-
als may be better at communicating challenge-focused encouragement,
whereas others may excel more in potential-focused encouragement. Potential-
focused encouragement bears some resemblance to one of the 34 talent themes
identified by Clifton and his colleagues at the Gallup Organization—the talent

theme of developer involves seeing potential in others and a delight in seeing

others develop and grow (Rath, 2007). The inclusion of potential-focused
encouragement in the model underscores the notion that encouragement is
relevant not only when individuals encounter challenging situations but also
when the encourager’s focus is on nurturing the recipient’s personal develop-
ment. Such a focus dovetails with salutogenic conceptualizations of mental
health (Keyes, 2007) in acknowledging that many people are not just inter-
ested in resolving problems but also in personal growth and in realizing the
full potential of their lives (Robitschek et al., 2012; Wong, 2006a).
Facet 2: Features of Effective Encouragement

The use of encouragement does not necessarily result in the recipient
experiencing encouragement or other positive outcomes. Therefore, Facet
2 of the TEM delineates the features that influence the extent to which
encouragement produces positive outcomes for recipients. In this regard,
three broad principles, based on a modified version of Bandura’s (1997)
three proposed factors for effective verbal persuasion, are offered. First,
the effectiveness of encouragement depends on how the encouragement
message is framed. For instance, Bandura observed that persuasion is more
effective in fostering self-efficacy when it communicates individuals’
progress (e.g., “You have already completed 70% of the work; I know you
can complete everything!”) rather than their shortfall from a goal. Drawing
from Adlerian concepts on encouragement (Azoulay, 1999; Kelly, 2002) as
well as Dweck and colleagues’ empirical work on the benefits of process
versus person praise (Kamins & Dweck, 1999), I further propose that
effective encouragement messages tend to emphasize process-oriented
factors. Examples of process-oriented factors include the recipient’s effort
(e.g., “If you keep on working hard like you have been, you will suc-
ceed!”), strategy (e.g., “I love how you use your fingers to practice sub-
traction. Keep doing it!”), and attitude (e.g., “I know you’ll succeed
because you have a never-give-up attitude!”). Furthermore, the empirical
literature on social influence (e.g., Cialdini & Griskevicius, 2010) could
be applicable to effective encouragement messages as long as they are
intended to instill courage, perseverance, confidence, inspiration, or hope.
For example, drawing from Cialdini’s principles of social influence
(Cialdini & Griskevicius, 2010), the framing of encouraging messages can
include appeals to the principle of consistency (e.g., “You’ve done this
before, so I think you can succeed again”) and the principle of social vali-
dation (e.g., “Ninety percent of female professors who applied for tenure
in our university were successful”).

Wong 193
Second, the encourager needs to be perceived by the recipient as trustwor-

thy (Bandura, 1997). For instance, recipients are more likely to trust the
encouragement messages they receive if they are offered by people they per-
ceive to be authority figures (e.g., a professor expressing confidence in a
student’s ability to handle an advanced statistics course) or people whom they
perceive know them really well.
Third, the encouragement message should be perceived as credible by the
recipient. Bandura (1997) cautioned against the use of overly effusive praise
(“You’re so awesome!”) that might be perceived by the recipient as insincere
or unrealistic. Specifically, Bandura suggested that the disparity between the
persuader’s and the recipient’s beliefs about the recipient’s abilities should
not be too large. For instance, a high school student who is in thinking of
dropping out of school because of failing grades might not be easily per-
suaded by an encouragement message claiming that “You can go to Harvard
University if you just work hard.” Therefore, effective encouragement may
involve identifying recipients’ beliefs about their own abilities and careful
calibration of encouragement messages to address these beliefs so that they
will be perceived as credible. As will be elaborated in our subsequent discus-
sion on motivational interviewing (MI; W. R. Miller & Rollnick, 2013), an
encouragement message will be viewed as more credible by the recipient if it
is based on arguments endorsed or provided by the recipient.
Facet 3: Levels of Encouragement

The third facet of the TEM focuses on levels of encouragement. At its most
basic level, encouragement, as defined in this article, is an act of interper-
sonal communication. As shown in our earlier review, this is the most com-
mon way that encouragement is conceptualized in the empirical literature.
However, as the foregoing review of the psychology of character strengths
and virtues demonstrates, encouragement, at another level, can be conceptu-
alized as a trait or, more specifically, as a character strength that individuals
possess in varying degrees. Simply put, some people are more effective
encouragers than others. The factors theorized to determine the effectiveness
of encouragement (see Facet 2) are also likely the same factors that character-
ize effective encouragers. That is, individuals whose signature character
strength is encouragement are likely to be good at framing encouragement
messages, establishing trustworthiness in the eyes of recipients, and tailoring
their encouragement messages to appear credible to recipients.
There are several implications and benefits of the conceptualization of
encouragement as a character strength or virtue. For one, the conceptualiza-
tion of encouragement as a morally desirable attribute (McCullough &

Snyder, 2000) implies that encouragement can and should be taught to others
and that individuals, through practice, can become better encouragers to their
partners, children, colleagues, friends, and students (cf. Jorgensen & Nafstad,
2004). Furthermore, a virtues-based conceptualization implies that encour-
agement embodies traits of a person’s moral character—that is, as a virtue,
encouragement integrates an individual’s prosocial internal motivations, cog-
nitions, and affect with her or his external behavior (Sandage & Hill, 2001).
An important implication is that people who have high levels of trait encour-
agement are not simply those who are socially skillful or schooled in the art
of flattery. Rather, the words of affirmation expressed by effective encourag-
ers reflect their positive motivations, cognitions, and affect toward the recipi-
ents. Simply put, individuals whose signature strength is encouragement tend
to have a positive view of others, are genuinely invested in the welfare of
others, and are excited to see others grow and develop (see also Carns &
Carns, 2006, for similar insights from Adlerian psychology).
In addition, Sandage and Hill (2001) argued that virtues are inextricably
linked to well-being and health in that they increase people’s ability to live a
good life. Indeed, empirical findings have demonstrated that some character
strengths are linked to a range of positive outcomes for the individuals who
exhibit these strengths, including positive mental health, academic achieve-
ment, and physical health (Niemiec, 2013). Applying this concept to encour-
agement, one might expect that the practice of encouragement would yield
benefits not only to the recipient of encouragement but also to the encourager.
(This hypothesis is further expanded in the discussion on future research
toward the end of this article.)
At a third level, encouragement can be conceptualized as a group norm in
families, schools, organizations, countries, and other ecological settings. This
focus on ecological settings is an important correction to the individualistic
bias that exists in most psychological research (Reis, Collins, & Berscheid,
2000), including positive psychology (Gable & Haidt, 2005; Wong, 2006b).
Such a conceptualization also dovetails with emerging interests applying
positive psychological concepts of virtues and strengths to the science of
organizational behavior (e.g., Cameron, Bright, & Caza, 2004; Luthans &
Youssef, 2007). As a group norm, encouragement refers to group members’
shared perceptions concerning the frequency and effectiveness with which
encouragement is communicated by others in a group as well as the extent to
which encouragement is valued by others in the group (cf. Cialdini & Trost,
1998). Therefore, an organization that is characterized by a strong culture of
encouragement might be one in which members perceive that encouragement
is frequently and effectively expressed and valued by others within the
organization.

Wong 195
Counseling Applications
Having described a model of encouragement processes, I now discuss practi-
cal applications of encouragement to counseling practice. I begin with a dis-
cussion of how encouragement is currently incorporated in counseling
theories and therapeutic common factors. I then delineate how the TEM can
be used as a framework to enhance counseling practice.
Counseling Theories
Many counseling theories either explicitly or implicitly acknowledge that
encouragement can contribute positively to client outcomes. However,
because of space constraints, I focus on five counseling theories for which
encouragement is a relatively prominent therapeutic focus—Adlerian ther-
apy, solution-focused therapy (SFT), narrative therapy, strength-centered
therapy, and MI. Not surprisingly, all five embrace a strength-based orienta-
tion to counseling.
Adlerian therapy. Probably in no other counseling theory is encouragement

more explicitly emphasized than in Adlerian therapy. Developed by Alfred
Adler, Adlerian therapy is a complex blend of psychodynamic, cognitive–
behavioral, and strength-based therapeutic processes (Sperry, 2003; Swee-
ney, 2009; Watts & Pietrzak, 2000). A fundamental premise in Adlerian
therapy is that human behavior is goal-oriented and socially embedded, and
clients’ problems can best be conceptualized in terms of how they try to
achieve their goals, particularly within the context of relationships with oth-
ers (Carlson, Watts, & Maniacci, 2006). An important goal in therapy is to
help clients gain insights into the mistaken beliefs embedded in their approach
to achieving their goals and then to encourage clients toward change.
Adlerian counselors view clients as discouraged (lacking motivation and
belief in their abilities to change) rather than ill (Watts & Pietrzak, 2000).
Consequently, the counselor’s use of encouragement—the antidote to dis-
couragement—is foundational to the process of therapeutic change (Main &
Boughner, 2011; Watts & Pietrzak, 2000). A central goal of encouragement in
Adlerian therapy is to increase clients’ intrinsic motivation to change
(Sweeney, 2009). One relatively unique feature of Adlerian encouragement is
that Adlerian counselors are careful to avoid using compliments that imply an
evaluation or approval of the client as a person (e.g., “I’m proud of you!”)
because of a concern that they constitute an external source of reinforcement
(Sweeney, 2009). Rather, because Adlerian encouragement is intended to fos-
ter clients’ intrinsic motivation to change, encouragement messages tend to

focus on client’s progress, effort (“You’ve worked really hard”), and positive
feelings or attitude (e.g., “You seem to enjoy . . .” or “You must be really
proud of yourself”).
There are several therapeutic skills advocated by Adlerian psychologists
that are consistent with this article’s definition of encouragement. Examples
of encouragement skills that instill hope include telling stories of how others
have successfully coped with similar problems, expressing confidence in the
client’s ability to change, pointing out to the client the positive consequences
of change, and asking questions about the client’s strengths (Main &
Boughner, 2011; Perman, 1975; Watts & Pietrzak, 2000). One innovative
Adlerian technique is to ask clients to act as if they can do something they
fear doing (e.g., speaking assertively; Watts, Peluso, & Lewis, 2005). The
rationale for this technique is that when clients begin to act differently,
regardless of their level of confidence, they tend to become more confident of
their abilities. This technique can be expanded to include the use of encour-
agement to instill inspiration and confidence by inviting clients to imagine
how their lives would be more positive if they were acting “as if” and then by
collaborating with clients to select behaviors that would increase the likeli-
hood of success in acting “as if” (Watts et al., 2005).
SFT. SFT is a brief, strength-based approach to counseling that adopts the

assumption that solutions in counseling are often unrelated to clients’ prob-
lems (Berg & De Jong, 1996; de Shazer, 1985; Ratner, George, & Iveson,
2012). SFT counselors do not spend too much time discussing the origins of
presenting concerns with clients because they believe that understanding a
problem is not a pre-requisite for solving it. Instead, the focus of SFT is on
identifying solutions and on clients’ strengths and positive resources.
Several of the core techniques in SFT reflect counselors’ use of encour-
agement. SFT counselors use the miracle question to help clients imagine in
great detail how their lives would be different and what they would be doing
differently if a miracle were to happen and all their problem disappeared. In
so doing, clients construct an optimistic narrative of how their lives could be
more positive. Exception-finding questions are used to identify past suc-
cesses in clients’ lives (e.g., “Tell me about a time in the past when your
problem was less severe”), thereby communicating that clients are also capa-
ble of producing positive outcomes in their current circumstances (“In the
past, you were less stressed whenever you confided in your best friend; I
wonder if doing the same thing could help you cope with your current job
stress”).
SFT counselors also use compliments to express admiration at clients’
accomplishments and to explore their strengths (e.g., “Despite how tough

Wong 197
things are for you, you wake up every morning to take care of your kids. How
do you do it? What is your secret?”). Each of these techniques can be concep-
tualized as expressions of encouragement to the client because they not only
help clients identify potential solutions to their problems but also instill hope
or confidence in their ability to change.
Narrative therapy. Narrative therapy adopts the stance that clients make

meaning of their lives through narratives or stories that can be authored based
on multiple viewpoints (Combs & Freedman, 2012; Freedman & Combs,
1996; White & Epstein, 1990). When clients come to counseling, they tell
“thin” stories that focus only on a few (and usually negative) experiences out
of their myriad life experiences. Therefore, an important goal of narrative
therapy is to help clients “thicken” their stories by identifying and drawing
out diverse perspectives on clients’ problems and counterexamples of events
that do not fit their problems.
There are at least four narrative techniques that could reflect the use of
encouragement. Exploring unique outcomes is a technique similar to asking
exception-finding questions in SFT (e.g., “Tell me about a time when the
problem tried to attack, but you were able to resist it”) and conveys the opti-
mistic message that if clients were successful addressing their problems in
the past, they could also be successful in addressing their current problems.
Similarly, developing preferred stories is an intervention that draws out a
(typically positive) narrative that has not been given sufficient attention and
encouraging the client to elaborate on it. This could involve asking questions
to connect an event with other similar events (e.g., “You were really assertive
in this instance. If I were to interview your friends, what would be their pre-
diction of other instances in which you’re likely to be assertive?”). Such
questions could have the effect of strengthening clients’ confidence in their
own abilities to complete challenging tasks.
The use of therapeutic documents and reflecting teams are two additional
narrative techniques that convey strength-based feedback to the client. Both
techniques can be conceptualized as encouragement messages designed to
instill hope or confidence. A reflecting team can consist of a group of thera-
pists who observe a counseling session and then provide strength-based feed-
back to the client during a break in the session (Combs & Freedman, 2012).
Therapeutic documents may involve letters, certificates, or works of art
developed by the counselor, the client, or both. For example, a narrative
counselor might draft a therapeutic letter summarizing the client’s progress in
counseling with an emphasis on the client’s strengths as well as suggestions
on how the client can apply these strengths to her or his presenting concerns
(Rombach, 2003).

Strength-centered therapy. Strength-centered therapy (Wong, 2006a) is a ther-

apeutic approach based on an integration of the psychology of character
strengths (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) and social constructionist perspec-
tives on counseling. Consistent with social constructionist viewpoints (e.g.,
H. Anderson, 1997), strength-centered counselors believe that the linguistic
terms used in counseling play a crucial role in shaping clients’ presenting
concerns. An over-emphasis on diagnostic labels and psychopathology in
counseling might be discouraging for clients; instead, counselors’ preferred
set of linguistic terms is that of character strengths. For example, clients’
presenting concerns are conceptualized as unrealized character strengths.
Therefore, the goal in strength-centered therapy is to help clients identify,
label, develop, and utilize character strengths.
Strength-centered therapy is characterized by four phases of counseling,
and the counselor’s use of encouragement is relevant in each phase. In the
explicitizing phase, the counselor helps identify the client’s latent character
strengths, thereby communicating the hopeful message that the client has the
necessary psychological resources to resolve her or his presenting problems.
For instance, the metastrategy of polyvocality (Gergen, 1999) is based on the
notion that clients can enlarge their understanding of character strengths when
they listen to the perspectives of people they admire or trust. The client’s sup-
portive close friends can be invited to join in a session of counseling and be
asked by the counselor to provide feedback on the strengths they have observed
in the client’s life and how these strengths can be used to address the client’s
presenting concerns. In the envisioning phase, the counselor collaborates with
the client to identify new character strengths to develop. To help a client elabo-
rate on the strength of gratitude that she or he wishes to develop, the client can
be encouraged to project into the future and describe in detail a typical day in
the life of “grateful ___ [client’s name].” This vivid description in turn pro-
vides inspiration for attaining the vision of being a more grateful person. In the
empowering phase, clients are encouraged to exercise their desired character
strengths. Counselors can use compliments to encourage clients to persevere
in their use of their desired character strengths (e.g., “Wow, it’s great that you
were able to express gratitude to your wife even though it didn’t feel natural to
you. With a bit more practice, it would become easier. Who would be the next
person to whom you would like to practice expressing gratitude?”). Finally, in
the evolving phase (celebrating growth in character strengths and identifying
areas for continued growth after the conclusion of counseling), counselors can
provide encouragement by asking clients to consider how they can use their
strengths to address future challenges that might arise after the conclusion of
counseling. Such a focus can help increase clients’ confidence that they can
cope successfully with future problems.

Wong 199
MI. MI is a client-centered counseling approach for addressing clients’ ambiva-

lence about change and strengthening their intrinsic motivation to change (W. R.
Miller & Rollnick, 2013). Consistent with a client-centered philosophy, clients
are recognized as experts on themselves and their presenting concerns with a
knowledge of what is best for them (Westra & Aviram, 2013). MI counselors
express empathy toward their clients’ experience of ambivalence about change;
they avoid actively persuading clients to change and instead focus more on cre-
ating opportunities for clients to listen to their own reasons for change.
Encouragement is most explicitly used in MI when the clients are inter-
ested in change but lack confidence in their ability to change. In this situation,
MI counselors collaborate with clients to strengthen their confidence.
Examples include reviewing past successes as well as identifying and affirm-
ing clients’ strengths. Two techniques in particular deserve further mention.
The confidence ruler technique (W. R. Miller & Rollnick, 2013) bears some
resemblance to scaling questions in SFT and involves asking clients how
confident they are of implementing the change they desire on a scale of 0 to
10, where 10 represents total confidence. The counselor might then ask,
“Why are you at a __ but not at 0?” and “How can we get you from __ to __
(a higher number)?” Hypothetical thinking is another technique that is
intended to increase clients’ confidence by drawing on their creativity and
strengths (W. R. Miller & Rollnick, 2013). For example, counselors could
invite clients to imagine that 3 years have passed and they have succeeded in
making the change they want and then write a letter from their future self to
their current self to offer words of encouragement.
Common Factors
Although encouragement is a relatively prominent therapeutic tool in the
aforementioned five theories of counseling, it is also relevant to several ther-
apeutic factors common to all forms of effective counseling. Common factors
refer to the core therapeutic mechanisms of change common to effective
forms of counseling, regardless of counseling theory or type of treatment. A
large quantitative review of counseling research estimated that 70% of the
variability in counseling outcomes was due to common factors and only 8%
was due to specific therapeutic ingredients (Wampold, 2001), thus underscor-
ing the primacy of common factors in effective counseling. Although a wide
range of common factors have been proposed and studied (e.g., Grencavage
& Norcross, 1990; Owen, Wong, & Rodolfa, 2010), two of the four most
frequently cited common factors are the therapeutic alliance and hope (S. D.
Miller, Duncan, & Hubble, 1997). It is theorized that the counselor’s use of
encouragement directly contributes to both factors.

The therapeutic alliance—conceptualized as the bond between the thera-

pist and the client and their agreement on therapeutic goals and tasks—has
been consistently found to be related to positive client outcomes (Horvath,
Del Re, Flückiger, & Symonds, 2011). Encouragement might help strengthen
the therapeutic alliance in several ways. For one, counselors who are effec-
tive and genuine in communicating affirmations about their clients (e.g.,
“This is what I really admire about you . . .”) probably have a greater likeli-
hood of being liked by their clients, which then increases the therapeutic
bond. Similarly, counselors who are effective in encouraging clients who are
ambivalent about change or lack confidence in their ability to implement
change are more likely to elicit stronger counselor–client agreement on thera-
peutic goals and tasks. Consistent with these views, Bedi, Davis, and
Williams’ (2005) study of clients’ perceptions of behaviors that contributed to
the therapeutic alliance identified several associated with counselors’ use of
encouragement, including positive commentary (e.g., affirmative comments
on the client’s progress) and positive sentiment (e.g., expressing positive
attitudes).
Beyond the therapeutic alliance, the counselor’s use of encouragement
may also contribute to the common factor of hope. Hope or expectancy refers
to the clients’ belief that counseling would be effective in addressing their
presenting concerns. Studies have found that hope contributes to positive cli-
ent outcomes, regardless of theoretical orientation (Coppock, Owen,
Zagarskas, & Schmidt, 2010; Larsen, Edey, & Lemay, 2007). That is, the
more hopeful clients are that their presenting concerns can be successfully
addressed and the more hopeful counselors are in their clients, the greater the
clients’ therapeutic gains. In this regard, encouragement might be a key gate-
way for counselors to communicate hope in clients. In line with this view, one
study of brief counseling showed that the item, “the counselor encouraged
me to believe I could improve my situation” on a client satisfaction scale best
predicted clients’ satisfaction with counseling (Talley, Butcher, & Moorman,
1992). Counselors’ use of encouragement might help instill hope at various
phases of counseling. For example, during the role induction phase at the
beginning of counseling, counselors may increase clients’ hope by providing
reasons why counseling could be effective in addressing their presenting con-
cerns. Counselors’ use of encouragement can also increase hope when clients
are discouraged about their perceived inability to change or when they expe-
rience a sudden setback.
In addition to the common factors of hope and the therapeutic alliance,
therapists’ use of encouragement might also be conceptualized as a principle
of therapeutic change (Castonguay & Beutler, 2006) that can help clients
engage in therapeutic activities and achieve their therapeutic goals. Counselors’

Wong 201
use of encouragement can be particularly relevant to help motivate a client

who lacks the enthusiasm or self-efficacy to try a therapeutic task (e.g., com-
pleting a thought record sheet used in cognitive therapy). In such situations,
encouragement is frequently used by counselors to strengthen clients’ willing-
ness to complete the task (e.g., by reminding clients of past successes, express-
ing faith in clients’ abilities, or explaining the positive benefits of the task).
Counseling Applications of the TEM

Having discussed how encouragement is currently incorporated in counsel-
ing theories and therapeutic common factors, I now discuss how the TEM can
be used as a framework to further enhance counseling practice. Facet 1 of the
TEM underscores the notion that counselors’ use of encouragement can be
challenge-focused or potential-focused. To the extent that most counseling
theories and psychological treatments are based on the goal of helping clients
resolve problems (Wong, 2006a), it appears that, in general, counselors tend
to use challenge-focused encouragement more frequently than potential-
focused encouragement. In contrast, the use of potential-focused encourage-
ment acknowledges that many clients might not just be interested in alleviating
mental illness, but are also invested in personal growth, and living more
meaningful lives (Keyes, 2007; Robitschek et al., 2012; Wong, 2006a). As
illustrated in the brief vignette below, potential-focused encouragement can
be used to address these goals:
Counselor: You’ve never explicitly mentioned this, but I notice that one
consistent theme in our conversations is that you always stand up for
the underdog—it’s so much a part of who you are. [Counselor provides
specific examples.]
Client: Yeah, I never thought of it this way, but it’s true. I just can’t stand
it when people are bullied, and I want to be a voice for folks who don’t
have a voice.
Counselor: This is such an admirable attribute. I often feel moved when
you talk about injustice and how much you care for the poor. And I also
sense that it gives your life meaning, does it?
Client: It does!
Counselor: I wonder what would happen if you pay more attention to this
attribute of yours, maybe nurture it a little more.
In sum, counselors are encouraged to consider how they can actively

incorporate the use of potential-focused encouragement in their counseling
practice.

The three broad principles in Facet 2 of the TEM can also be used as a
heuristic to help counselors reflect on how they can be more effective encour-
agers to their clients. In terms of framing counselors’ encouragement mes-
sages, it is posited that in many instances, implicit forms of encouragement
that use questions to draw out clients’ own reasons for change or confidence
(W. R. Miller & Rollnick, 2013) may be more effective than explicit forms of
encouragement (e.g., “I know you can change; just don’t give up!”).
Counselors can also draw on principles of social influence (Cialdini &
Griskevicius, 2010) to frame their encouragement messages. For instance,
counselors can use the principle of social validation to communicate encour-
agement to clients during the role induction phase of counseling. To help a
client who is ambivalent about the use of exposure therapy to address a pho-
bia, the counselor could say,
I’ve worked with many clients who have had the same type of phobia. Most of
them successfully overcame their phobia. Although I can’t promise you
anything, I can say there’s a good chance you’ll have the same experience.
In the same vein, knowing that the effectiveness of counselors’ encourage-

ment messages may be linked to their perceived trustworthiness and the per-
ceived credibility of their encouragement messages can help counselors
decide on the timing and crafting of their encouragement messages. For
example, counselors might consider waiting until the therapeutic alliance is
strong (and therefore, counselors would be perceived as credible by clients)
before delivering an explicit encouragement message (e.g., “I really believe
you will succeed”). Similarly, counselors’ encouragement messages might be
perceived by clients as more credible if counselors appear genuine and if the
discrepancy between their messages and clients’ perceptions of themselves or
their situation is not excessive (cf. Bandura, 1997). Given that encourage-
ment is not explicitly identified as a core skill in many textbooks on basic
counseling skills (e.g., Hill, 2014; Nelson-Jones, 2012), counseling scholars
and trainers could consider how effective encouragement skills can be incor-
porated in training programs and resources for counselors.
Finally, Facet 3 of the TEM can help broaden counselors’ conceptualiza-
tion of encouragement from merely an interpersonal communication to a
character strength they can nurture as well as a group norm that can be culti-
vated in organizational settings. The emphasis on encouragement as a charac-
ter strength aligns well with recent conceptualizations of therapeutic common
factors that focus on the qualities of effective therapists (Wampold, 2010).
For instance, Wampold (2014) has proposed 14 qualities and actions of effec-
tive counselors based on a review of theory and research evidence. Two of

Wong 203
these qualities are relevant to encouragement. According to Wampold, effec-

tive counselors (a) communicate hope and optimism and (b) are influential
and persuasive, attributes related to the character strength of encouragement.
The conceptualization of encouragement as a character strength has impor-
tant implications for the training of counselors. As a character strength,
encouragement includes one’s internal motivations, cognitions, and affect
(Sandage & Hill, 2001). Therefore, the training of counselors in the use of
encouragement should not simply focus on specific social skills but also a
way of life and an attitude to be cultivated by counselors in their daily lives
with their partners, friends, and colleagues. Counselors who actively practice
observing potential positive qualities in other people and who convey a genu-
ine delight in seeing others grow and develop are more likely to cultivate the
character strength of encouragement.
Beyond character strengths, encouragement can also be conceptualized as
a group norm in counseling organizations. Such a conceptualization is valu-
able because it recognizes that many counselors are not independent practi-
tioners but work in organizations in which their practice is influenced in part
by their relationships with colleagues and by organizational culture and cli-
mate (Aarons & Sawitzky, 2006). Counselors who feel overworked, under-
appreciated, and discouraged may be less likely to be effective counselors.
Therefore, leaders in counseling centers, community mental health centers,
and other organizations that provide counseling services could consider
whether fostering a culture and climate of encouragement at the organiza-
tional level can be beneficial to the psychological health of counselors and,
by extension, to the clients they serve. Examples of organizational interven-
tions that may foster encouragement include (a) conducting a survey to assess
counselors’ perceptions on the frequency and effectiveness with which
encouragement is communicated to them in the organization, (b) introducing
strength-based supervision of counselors, and (c) developing organizational
rituals that facilitate encouragement among counselors. For example, poten-
tial-focused encouragement can be communicated in a yearly “project-into-
the-future” exercise. In this activity, staff psychologists in a counseling center
communicate positive predictions of their interns and practicum students’
counseling skills and career advancement in 10 years’ time and also provide
an explanation (based on their observations of the latter’s latent strengths) for
why they make these predictions.
Applications in Other Areas of Psychology

Although this article’s main application focus is on counseling practice, a few
brief recommendations about non-counseling applications are warranted.

Beyond counseling, a natural extension of encouragement applications would

be the clinical supervision of counselors. The use of encouragement by super-
visors is consistent with strength-based models of supervision that focus on
amplifying counselors’ strengths (Edwards, 2013). A recent study found that
encouragement was perceived by counseling supervisees to be one of the
characteristics of effective supervisory skills (Ladany, Mori, & Mehr, 2013).
Supervisors could use encouragement to support their supervisees’ counsel-
ing self-efficacy, particularly novice counselors who are anxious about their
counseling skills (Schwing, LaFollette, Steinfeldt, & Wong, 2011). In this
regard, potential-focused encouragement (Facet 1 of the TEM) may be par-
ticularly helpful in identifying supervisees’ latent clinical skills (e.g., “I’ve
noticed that you’ve a very genuine way of empathizing with your client using
disclosure of your feelings. [Supervisor provides an example.] Could you do
that more often?”).
Beyond counseling psychology, it is argued that encouragement is relevant
to multiple areas of applied psychology, including school and educational psy-
chology, family psychology, health psychology, and community psychology.
Adlerian psychologists have been at the forefront of applying the construct of
encouragement to teaching and classroom management in school settings
(Kelly, 2002; Kelly & Daniels, 1997; Sweeney, 2009). Encouragement skills
could be incorporated as an integral part of teacher training. As earlier identi-
fied in this article’s review of the empirical literature, teachers’ use of encour-
agement may be particularly important for nurturing the academic strengths of
girls and racial minority children who may strongly value the confidence
expressed by significant others (Usher & Pajares, 2006; Zeldin & Pajares,
2000). In family psychology, encouragement has been identified as a key par-
enting skill and source of family resilience (Roggman et al., 2013; Walsh,
2003). Therefore, couples and parents can be trained to become more effective
encouragers to nurture healthy relationships and family resilience. To the
extent that encouragement is an integral expression of emotional support
(Helgeson & Cohen, 1996), training interventions can be introduced to help
significant others be more effective encouragers to support their loved ones’
health promoting behaviors (e.g., Beets et al., 2010; Stephens et al., 2010).
Finally, in the area of community psychology, primary prevention interven-
tions can include training large groups of individuals in the effective use of
encouragement to foster psychological and social well-being in communities.
Recommendations for Future Research

Because the psychological science of encouragement is still in its infancy, it
is hoped that this article’s definition of encouragement and the TEM can be

Wong 205
used to guide future research. First, perhaps the most urgent research task is
the development of new measures of encouragement. As indicated in the
foregoing review of the literature, previous studies on encouragement need to
be interpreted with caution because the measures used to assess encourage-
ment sometimes do not distinguish between encouragement as defined in this
article (i.e., the expression of affirmations) and more neutral forms of persua-
sions (e.g., Sallis et al., 1987). Hence, the definition of encouragement in this
article is offered as the basis for developing new measures of encouragement.
In this regard, researchers might want to distinguish between challenge-
focused and potential-focused encouragement (Facet 1 of the TEM) in their
development of new instruments because they represent different expressions
of encouragement and might therefore have different psychosocial correlates.
In developing new instruments to assess encouragement, researchers should
also be careful to ensure that the items in their scales do not merely focus on
praise (e.g., “I enjoy giving positive feedback when others do a good job”)
but also on the notion of instilling courage, perseverance, confidence, inspi-
ration, or hope (e.g., “I enjoy telling others that I believe they can succeed”).
Based on Facet 3 of the TEM (levels of encouragement), researchers are fur-
ther encouraged to develop measures that conceptualize encouragement not
only as an act of interpersonal communication but also as a character strength
and group norm.
Second, researchers can test the extent to which this article’s definition of
encouragement approximates lay people’s understanding of encouragement.
For example, researchers can use qualitative research to explore lay people’s
perceptions of what it means to encourage someone else, positive examples
of encouragement, and the impact of encouragement on their lives.
Third, researchers should assess the effectiveness of encouragement mes-
sages and interventions. For instance, the effectiveness of encouragement
interventions can be tested as an adjunctive intervention to counseling, either
in the form of an encouragement letter written by the counselor to the client
(e.g., Rombach, 2003) or as a form of social support provided by clients’
significant others (e.g., Silk et al., 2013). In the context of psychotherapy
process research, researchers can assess whether counselors’ use of encour-
agement accounts for a meaningful proportion of variance in client outcomes.
If it does, such findings could suggest that encouragement might be an impor-
tant attribute of effective therapists that deserves further attention in the train-
ing of counselors.
Fourth, researchers could investigate when and for whom (moderators), as
well as how, (mediators) encouragement messages produce positive out-
comes for recipients of encouragement. For instance, applying Fredrickson’s
(2001) broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, researchers can assess

whether positive emotions (e.g., gratitude, hope, and inspiration) mediate the
effects of receiving encouragement; that is, encouragement might generate
positive emotions in recipients, which in turn broaden their thought–action
repertoire (e.g., new insights and flexible ways of thinking) and build their
long-term psychosocial resources (e.g., social bonds with others). With
regard to moderators, the three principles in Facet 2 of the TEM (features of
effective encouragement)—framing of encouragement messages, perceived
credibility of the encourager, and perceived trustworthiness of the encourage-
ment message—can be used as the basis to investigate when encouragement
messages and interventions are most effective. Researchers can analyze
which factors most strongly predict the extent to which an encouragement
message produces beneficial outcomes for the recipient. For example,
research might clarify whether the content of the encouragement message or
the relationship between the encourager and recipient is a more robust predic-
tor of salutary outcomes for the recipient. Drawing an analogy from research
findings on the conditions under which praise has a positive effect on chil-
dren’s intrinsic motivation, it is hypothesized that encouragement messages
are most beneficial to recipients when they are viewed as sincere, attribute
performance outcomes to controllable causes, do not emphasize social com-
parisons, enhance perceived autonomy and competence, and communicate
realistic expectations (Henderlong & Lepper, 2002).
Fifth, the conceptualization of encouragement as a character strength (Facet
3 of the TEM) presents several research implications. Given the intrinsic con-
nection between virtues and well-being (Sandage & Hill, 2001), researchers
can investigate whether the practice of encouragement produces positive out-
comes for the encourager (and not just the recipient of encouragement).
Although no known research has directly addressed this issue, empirical find-
ings from other areas of positive psychology may be instructive. Positive psy-
chological intervention studies have found that individuals’ practice of kindness
and expressing gratitude to others enhanced their subjective and social well-
being (e.g., Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, & Schkade, 2005; Seligman, Steen, Park,
& Peterson, 2005). Although the construct of encouragement differs from grati-
tude and kindness, all three constructs are prosocial strengths that can involve
expressing or doing something positive for others. Similar to the hypothesized
mechanisms through which gratitude and kindness promotes well-being, the
practice of encouragement might enhance encouragers’ well-being by cultivat-
ing a positive view of others and self, fostering relational bonds through proso-
cial reciprocity from recipients, and nurturing self-transcendence by reducing
excessive self-focus (Emmons & Mishra, 2011; Lyubomirsky et al., 2005).
Future research can test whether these mechanisms mediate the potential ben-
efits of practicing encouragement.

Wong 207
Similarly, researchers can investigate the correlates of trait encouragement

(the character strength of encouragement). It is theorized that encouragement
would be related to other prosocial strengths such as gratitude and kindness
as well as to optimism and social actualization (perceiving that others have
the potential to grow and develop; Keyes, 2007). Trait encouragement might
also differ as a function of parenting styles. For instance, based on Baumrind’s
(1973) typology of parenting styles, it is hypothesized that parents with an
authoritarian parenting style (low levels of warmth and high levels of control)
would score low on trait encouragement, whereas those with an authoritative
parenting style (high levels of warmth and control) would have higher levels
of trait encouragement.
Sixth, the analysis of encouragement as an ecological group norm is an
understudied area that deserves further attention. Encouragement can be
studied in this manner by computing the mean scores of encouragement
norms across multiple groups (e.g., families, schools, and organizations)—
this would enable the testing of random effects models using multilevel mod-
eling (Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002). Several intriguing questions can be
addressed: Are encouragement norms at the ecological level correlated with
encouragement traits (i.e., character strengths) at the individual level? Do
families, schools, and organizations that exhibit strong encouragement norms
also exhibit other healthy attributes (e.g., positive mental health) at the eco-
logical and individual levels? Does variability in encouragement norms
among university counseling centers (as perceived by counselors) account
for variability in client outcomes?
Seventh, although this article has focused mainly on the positive benefits
of encouragement, researchers should not ignore potential negative outcomes
associated with encouragement. For instance, encouragement of dieting from
significant others may contribute to disordered eating behaviors among
young adults (Eisenberg, Berge, & Neumark-Sztainer, 2013). It is therefore
important to clarify the contexts that might determine when encouragement
produces deleterious or salutary outcomes.
Finally, multicultural considerations need to be a core focus of encourage-
ment research because the expression, frequency, and importance of encour-
agement likely vary across gender, racial groups, and culture. For instance,
several scholars have observed that East Asians have a greater tendency than
Westerners to embrace a worldview that emphasizes the ubiquity of change
in one’s life circumstances (Ji, Nisbett, & Su, 2001; Tweed & Conway, 2006).
Ji and colleagues posited that a belief in the ubiquity of change in events
might lead East Asians to remain hopeful in the midst of suffering in anticipa-
tion that the situation will eventually change. Researchers could examine the
possibility that cultural beliefs about the ubiquity of change might influence

the framing of encouragement messages. Perhaps encouragers who strongly

embrace a cultural belief in the ubiquity of change might be more inclined to
focus their encouragement messages on recipients’ situation (e.g., “I’m con-
fident that things will get better”) relative to encouragers who believe in the
stability of events.
Conclusion
This article synthesized diverse streams of theorizing and research to propose
an integrative psychological science of encouragement. To this end, I offered
a definition of encouragement, outlined its conceptual boundaries, and then
proposed a conceptual model that delineates a taxonomy of encouragement
processes. Known as the TEM, this model charts the foci, features, and levels
of encouragement. I then explored how this model can be used to enhance
counseling practice and to guide future research on the psychology of encour-
agement. A central thesis of this article is that encouragement is an important,
albeit understudied, construct that deserves greater attention from counseling
psychologists as well as psychologists from other fields. I hope that this arti-
cle will serve as an impetus for psychologists to explore new horizons of
research and applications on the psychology of encouragement.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publi-
cation of this article.
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Author Biography
Y. Joel Wong, PhD, is an associate professor of Counseling Psychology at Indiana
University. Dr. Wong obtained his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin. His
main research interests are in positive psychology, the psychology of men and mascu-
linities, and Asian American mental health. Dr. Wong is an associate editor for the
Journal of Counseling Psychology and the journal Psychology of Men and Masculinity.

Psychology of Encouragement

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1Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA

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A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise

From everyday conversations between romantic partners to pep talks

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Definition and Conceptual Boundaries

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The requirement that encouragement needs to be communicated in lan-

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attitudes or behavior, not all forms of persuasion are directed at instilling

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would be when the encourager provides an unsolicited suggestion to the

Empirical Findings on Encouragement

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persuasion from a counselor indicating that they possessed sufficient skills

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Cultural beliefs might also influence the value of encouragement in instill-

Summary and Critique

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have focused more on the effects of verbal persuasion on self-efficacy rather

Psychology of Character Strengths and Virtues

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character strengths classified under six core virtues—wisdom, courage,

Tripartite Encouragement Model (TEM)

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Table 1. Tripartite Encouragement Model.

facets of encouragement processes—foci, features, and levels of encourage-

Facet 1: Foci of Encouragement

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theme of developer involves seeing potential in others and a delight in seeing

Facet 2: Features of Effective Encouragement

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Second, the encourager needs to be perceived by the recipient as trustwor-

Facet 3: Levels of Encouragement

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Adlerian therapy. Probably in no other counseling theory is encouragement

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SFT. SFT is a brief, strength-based approach to counseling that adopts the

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Narrative therapy. Narrative therapy adopts the stance that clients make

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Strength-centered therapy. Strength-centered therapy (Wong, 2006a) is a ther-

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MI. MI is a client-centered counseling approach for addressing clients’ ambiva-

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The therapeutic alliance—conceptualized as the bond between the thera-

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use of encouragement can be particularly relevant to help motivate a client

Counseling Applications of the TEM

In sum, counselors are encouraged to consider how they can actively

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In the same vein, knowing that the effectiveness of counselors’ encourage-

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these qualities are relevant to encouragement. According to Wampold, effec-

Applications in Other Areas of Psychology