Future self-continuity is associated with improved health and increases exercise behavior.

Rutchick, Abraham M.; Slepian, Michael L.; Reyes, Monica O; Pleskus, Lindsay N; Hershfield, Hal E.

doi:10.1037/xap0000153

Cited by 85 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…However, incorporating future self-continuity into health research is of growing interest. One recent study found that stronger psychological connectedness one feels with their future selves is related to better health outcomes (Rutchick et al, 2018). As such, smokers who perceive themselves similar or connected to their future selves may be more concerned about the accumulating effect of smoking over time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting smoking behavior: intention and future self-continuity among Austrians

Zhao

Dichtl

Foran

2020

Psychology, Health & Medicine

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Smoking is a major public health problem in Austria, but relevant research and intervention is limited. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the present study aimed to test the model utility in an Austrian sample. As future self-continuity is likely to impact on health behavior, we also hypothesized an extended TPB with future self-continuity could further explain the variance in smoking. Using a prospective design, 94 current smokers (74.5% women; M age = 24.27 years; 61.7% daily smokers) from a university in South Austria completed the baseline and follow-up survey (one month after the baseline). Consistent with the TPB, intention and perceived behavioral control (PBC) significantly predicted smoking behavior; affective attitude and PBC were significantly associated with smoking intention. In contrast, cognitive attitude and subjective norm were unrelated to smoking intention. As hypothesized, the TPB explained 42% variance of smoking behavior and 31% variance of smoking intention. Participants' future self-continuity further explained the variance of smoking behavior. Our study demonstrates the utility of the TPB in understanding Austrian smoking behavior. The role of psychological perception of future self among smokers has been highlighted. Future smoking intervention may target PBC, affective attitude, as well as a lifespan perspective.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting smoking behavior: intention and future self-continuity among Austrians

Zhao

Dichtl

Foran

2020

Psychology, Health & Medicine

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“…In other words, participants express their self-view in a relatively decontextualized (or global) way, thus allowing them to define themselves freely as they see fit. Individuals who score highly on this measure are more likely to engage in future-oriented behavior, such as increased long-term health behaviors [64], greater monetary saving, less-myopic temporal discounting tendencies [21], and decreased acceptance of unethical behaviors [29].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further, several studies examined one of the components of future self-identification and its relations with intrapsychic outcomes. These studies found that (a) relatedness predicted more positive and less negative affect [7], more psychological well-being [14], and less depression [67]; (b) positivity predicted less anxiety and depression [19,31,67], more life satisfaction and state self-esteem [33,39], and higher quality of life [64]; and (c) vividness predicted higher life satisfaction, greater positive affect, and less negative affect and depression [49].…”

Section: Relationships Among the Three Componentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, a third limitation of the present study is that we assessed only one behavioral outcome, with future self-identification accounting for a small proportion of variance in cumulative GPA. Prior research has demonstrated an effect of future self-identification on a variety of behavioral outcomes, including savings behavior [21], exercise rates [64], and delinquency [92]. Thus, future research is warranted that investigates the unique relationship between the three future self-identification components and behavioral outcomes such as work productivity and adherence to medical regimens.…”

Section: Implications Limitations and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A test of a triadic conceptualization of future self-identification

et al. 2020

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People encounter intertemporal decisions every day and often engage in behaviors that are not good for their future. One factor that may explain these decisions is the perception of their distal future self. An emerging body of research suggests that individuals vary in how they perceive their future self and many perceive their future self as a different person. The present research aimed to (1) build on and extend Hershfield’s et al. (2011) review of the existing literature and advance the conceptualization of the relationship between the current and future self, (2) extend and develop measures of this relationship, and (3) examine whether and how this relationship predicts intrapsychic and achievement outcomes. The results of the literature review suggested that prior research mostly focused on one or two of the following components: (a) perceived relatedness between the current and future self in terms of similarity and connectedness, (b) vividness in imagining the future self, and (c) degree of positivity felt toward the future self. Additionally, differences in how researchers have labeled the overall construct lead us to propose future self-identification as a new label for the three-component construct. Our research built on existing measures to test the validity of a three-component model of future self-identification. Across three samples of first-year undergraduates, this research established the psychometric properties of the measure, and then examined the relationships between the components and four outcome domains of interest: (1) psychological well-being (self-esteem, hope), (2) imagination of the future (visual imagery of future events, perceived temporal distance), (3) self-control, and (4) academic performance. We demonstrated that the three components of future self-identification were correlated but independent factors. Additionally, the three components differed in their unique relationships with the outcome domains, demonstrating the utility of measuring all three components of future self-identification when seeking to predict important psychological and behavioral outcomes.

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“…4 However, as in the financial domain, virtual reality is not the only way to increase the vividness of the future self. A recent study, for example, randomly assigned participants to simply write about either a near self (3 months in time) or a distant future self (20 years in time; Rutchick, Slepian, Reyes, Pleskus, & Hershfield, 2018). Participants who thought about a distant future self-making it more vivid than usual-exercised more in the days following the intervention compared with participants who thought of a near future self (already vivid).…”

Section: Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Vividness Interventions to Improve Financial Decision Making

Hershfield

Reiff

2018

Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences

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How best to complement choice architecture? Make the future self more vivid. Key Points • • Choice architecture is effective at changing behavior but not always easy to implement, so other, complementary, interventions are needed • • Financial decisions involve trade-offs between present and future selves, and the present self gets prioritized • • Making the future self more vivid can help people make sounder financial decisions • • Interventions should focus on making the future self (a) more visually vivid or (b) more imaginatively vivid 787536B BSXXX10.

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Future self-continuity is associated with improved health and increases exercise behavior.

Cited by 85 publications

References 43 publications

Predicting smoking behavior: intention and future self-continuity among Austrians

Predicting smoking behavior: intention and future self-continuity among Austrians

A test of a triadic conceptualization of future self-identification

Using Vividness Interventions to Improve Financial Decision Making

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