Entrusting dreams to someone else: The influences of autobiographical memory and future time perspectives on abandonment and entrustment of dreams

Abstract

People tend to entrust their own dreams, hopes, wishes, or aspirations associated with past positive or negative experiences, to others. These "others" may include children or people in younger generations. To date, psychological studies have investigated several developmental characteristics in relation to time perspectives. However, few studies have focused on the influence of autobiographical memory and future time perspectives on abandonment or entrustment of dreams. The present study examined this influence, based on the data of a total of 309 undergraduates for two questionnaires which included both open-ended questions and rating scales. The questionnaires examined (a) the kinds of feelings and reasons that occurred at the time of abandonment and entrustment of dreams, (b) the personal experiences prompting the abandonment and entrustment recalled, and (c) how current future time perspectives conveyed sentiments that dreams should be entrusted to someone else. Statistical analyses of the data revealed that autobiographical memory and time perspectives were strongly related to participants' feeling of entrusting dreams to others.

Editorial: Time perspective in learning, developmental, and interpersonal contexts

“…Recently, the study of time perspective has been expanding to include interpersonal and intergenerational contexts in order to clarify the interdependence of the past, present, and future. Ishino and Shimizu (2012) examine the relation between autobiographical memory and FTP among undergraduates in Japan and reveal that they are strongly related to participants' feelings of entrusting their dreams to others. Kashio (2012) investigates the relation between time perspective and motivation in interpersonal contexts.…”