Changes in outlook on the future between childhood and adolescence.

Abstract

The study investigated the notion that images of the distant future are available for the projection of wish-fulfilling fantasies in childhood, but become increasingly constrained by realistic considerations with the attainment of adolescence. There were four groups of Ss: normal (N = 23) and maladjusted children (N = 24), aged 10.5 to 12.5; and normal (N = 22) and maladjusted adolescents (N = 21), aged 13.5 to 16.5. Each of the 90 Ss was individually interviewed to assess 6 different aspects of his orientation toward the future. The data were consistent with the hypotheses. The relationship between indexes of maladjustment and measures of orientation toward the distant future was positive in childhood but negative in middle adolescence. Moreover, future orientation increased from childhood to adolescence among the normal controls, but decreased among the maladjusted Ss during this period.Fraisse (1963) asserted that "there is no future without at the same time a desire for something else and an awareness of the possibility of realizing it [p. 174]." The crucial dimension in this equation is the nature of the individual's concept of "realizability. " Several writers (e.g., Bleuler, 1951; Bios, 1962; Lewin, 1942 Lewin, , 1951 have suggested that a primary difference between the child and the adult is the relative lack of differentiation in the child's thought between unattainable -wishes and realizable expectations. The process of bringing one's aspirations into line with reality is a continuous one, but there are compelling reasons to expect that it is during the period of adolescence 1 This report is based on a dissertation presented to Harvard University for the PhD degree. The study was conducted while the writer was in France, under a scholarship from the Alliance Frangaise de New-York. The advice and assistance of Paul Fraisse (Paris), Roger Brown, and Jerome Kagan are gratefully acknowledged.

Relation Between Time Perspective and Delay Discounting: A Literature Review

“…Consistent with these data, male high school students with high GPAs and high study persistence attached significantly higher valence to goals in the distant future and perceived studying hard as more instrumental for reaching goals in the distant future and the "present," which was of an unspecified duration, than students with low GPAs and low study persistence (De Volder & Lens, 1982). Other studies also have found future time perspective to be related to school performance (Adelabu, 2008;Klineberg, 1967;O'Rand & Ellis, 1974;Peetsma, 2000;Shell & Husman, 2001;but cf. Dickstein, 1969).…”

“…Characterizing future time perspective in the same sample, these authors also found that younger adolescents demonstrated a weaker orientation to the future than did individuals ages 16 and older, as reflected in their self-characterizations as "less concerned about the future" and "less likely to anticipate the consequences of their decisions," which is compatible with the discounting/future time perspective relation outlined in the section examining groups differing on health-related characteristics. Similarly, an early study by Klineberg (1967) found that, among healthy individuals, the years from childhood to adolescence were characterized by an increasing concern with distant future events, indicating an increasing orientation toward the future.…”

“…In a more structured form, based on the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Murray, 1943), Klineberg (1967) and other groups have asked participants to tell a story about TAT Cards 1 (boy with violin) and 14 (silhouette in window) and to estimate the span of time encompassed by the story. Klineberg (1967) suggested that this estimate, which he called "action time span," reflects the participants' spontaneous tendency to extend their thoughts beyond the present and to consider the longer range outcomes of the situation depicted. Participants with stories that moved further into the future were assumed to be exhibiting a longer future time perspective than those whose story ended after a shorter period into the future.…”

Future time perspective: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

“…Several studies have examined chronological age and psychological time concepts in terms of the development of future time orientation during childhood and adolescence (e.g., Wallace & Rabin, 1960, Klineberg, 1967Teuscher & Mitchell, 2011). Studies with these age groups show an increasing future time orientation over time.…”

The Role of Subjective Temporality in Future-Oriented Mental Time Travel

“…These initial forays examined a diversity of topics-such as the part played by future orientation on life-span development (Klineberg, 1967;Wohlford, 1966), delinquent behavior (Davids, Kidder, & Reich, 1962), emotions (Melges & Fougerousse, 1968), impulse control (Klineberg, 1968;Rozek, Wessman, & Gorman, 1977;Siegman, 1961), motivation (Nuttin, 1985), academic achievement (Teahan, 1958), and mental illness (Krauss & Ruiz, 1967;Wallace, 1956). Most of this work treated future-oriented thought as a variable that people might use or be influenced by: the cognitive and neural underpinnings (e.g., memory) of FMTT seldom figured in discussion (this most likely was due to hard-line positivism's informal ban on "black-box" psychology).…”