How imagining personal future scenarios influences affect: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Schubert, Torben; Eloo, Renée; Scharfen, Jana; Morina, Nexhmedin

doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2019.101811

Cited by 54 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 148 publications

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“…den, 2012; Holmes & Mathews, 2010;Pearson et al, 2015;Schubert et al, 2020). Second, imagining an event with greater vividness makes it seem more certain to occur (Gregory et al, 1982;Sherman et al, 1985;Szpunar & Schacter, 2013; J. Q.…”

Section: Vividnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting farsighted decisions via episodic future thinking: A meta-analysis

Rösch¹,

Stramaccia²

2021

Preprint

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Episodic future thinking (EFT) denotes our capacity to imagine prospective events. It has been suggested to promote farsighted decisions that entail a trade-off between short-term versus long-term gains. Here, we meta-analyze the evidence for the impact of EFT on such intertemporal choices that have monetary or health-relevant consequences. Across 174 effect sizes from 48 articles, a three-level model yielded a medium-sized effect of g = 0.44, 95% CI [0.33, 0.55]. Notably, this analysis included a substantial number of unpublished experiments, and the effect remained stable following further adjustments for remaining publication bias. We exploited the observed heterogeneity to determine critical core components that moderate the impact of EFT. Specifically, the effect was stronger when the imagined events were positive, more vivid, and related to the delayed choice. We further obtained evidence for the contribution of the episodicity and future-orientedness of EFT. Of note, EFT had a greater impact in samples characterized by choice impulsivity (e.g., in obesity), suggesting that EFT can ameliorate maladaptive decision making. Additional analyses indicated that the effect is unlikely to merely reflect demand characteristics. Together, these results highlight the potential of EFT in promoting long-term goals, a finding that extends from the laboratory to real-life decisions.

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Section: Vividnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting farsighted decisions via episodic future thinking: A meta-analysis

Rösch¹,

Stramaccia²

2021

Preprint

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“…Furthermore, negative appraisal of past selves seems to be moderated by temporal distance, as such that distant past selves are appraised more negatively than present selves (Wilson & Ross, 2001). Yet, research on temporal comparison remains scarce (Chun, Brockner, & Cremer, 2018;Schubert, Eloo, Scharfen, & Morina, 2020).…”

Section: Temporal Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparisons inform me who I am: A general comparative processing model of self-perception

Morina¹

2020

Preprint

Self Cite

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Our self-concept contributes to our sense of identity over time. Yet, self-perception is motivated and serves survival and thus does not reflect stable inner states or accurate biographical accounts. Literature indicates that different types of comparison standards act as reference frames in evaluating attributes that constitute the self. However, the role of comparisons in self-perception has been underestimated, arguably due to lack of a guiding framework that takes into account relevant aspects of comparison processes and their interdependence. I propose a general comparative model of self-perception that consists of a basic comparison process involving the individual's prior mental representation of the target dimension, the construal of the comparison standard, and the comparison outcome representing the posterior representation of the target dimension. The generated dimensional construal is then appraised with respect to one's motives and controllability and goes on to shape emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses. Contextual and personal factors influence the comparison process. This model may be informative in better understanding comparison processes in our everyday life as well as in designing interventions to assist people overcome undesirable consequences of comparative behavior. [182 words]

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“…As for clinical implications, some studies have shown that training EFT can lead to positive outcomes in healthy individuals (e.g., Brown et al 2002;Schubert et al 2020) but little is known in neurodevelopmental disorders. A recent study by Hallford et al (2020c) trained EFT using the Episodic Future Thinking Test (EFT-T; Hallford et al 2020b) and showed a significant improvement on the specificity, imaginary and level of detail of the narratives.…”

Section: Strengths Limitations Future Directions and Clinical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Episodic Future Thinking in Autism Spectrum Disorder and 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome: Association with Anticipatory Pleasure and Social Functioning

Feller

Dubois²,

Eliez³

et al. 2021

J Autism Dev Disord

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Episodic future thinking (EFT) has been suggested to underlie anticipatory pleasure (AP), itself known to play a crucial role in social functioning (SF). Both AP and SF are impaired in various clinical populations, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS). Therefore, the relationship between EFT, AP and SF was investigated, as well as the potential role of projecting oneself in a social vs. non-social context. Seventy-seven participants [24 with 22q11DS, 20 with ASD, 33 typically developing controls (TDs)] (aged 12–25) were included. They were assessed with a future thinking task in which they were asked to recall a memory and produce a likely event. Narratives were rated based of specificity, richness and imaginability. Participants completed questionnaires assessing AP and SF. Narratives from ASD and 22q11DS participants were rated as less vivid compared to TDs. However, the characteristics of the narratives differed between ASD and 22q11DS participants in terms of specificity and level of details, as well as in reaction to social condition. Moreover, correlations were found between AP and EFT in both ASD and 22q11DS participants, and between SF and EFT in ASD participants. These results point towards impairments in EFT in both ASD and 22q11DS participants but with a specific profile in each condition. The observed associations between EFT and AP suggest that decreased autonoetic consciousness might underlie AP impairments. In ASD individuals, the association between SF and EFT highlights the need to better characterize EFT since EFT could be another mechanism contributing to social difficulties.

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How imagining personal future scenarios influences affect: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Cited by 54 publications

References 148 publications

Promoting farsighted decisions via episodic future thinking: A meta-analysis

Promoting farsighted decisions via episodic future thinking: A meta-analysis

Comparisons inform me who I am: A general comparative processing model of self-perception

Episodic Future Thinking in Autism Spectrum Disorder and 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome: Association with Anticipatory Pleasure and Social Functioning

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