Look into the crystal ball: Can vivid images of the future enhance physical health?

Moss, Simon; Skinner, Timothy; Alexi, Nektarios; Wilson, Samuel

doi:10.1177/1359105316669582

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…ISSN: 1945-7774 CC by-NC 4.0 2020 Financial Therapy Association 57 Previous research has verified the association between future clarity and responsible behavior (e.g., Wilson, Moss, & Irons, 2017). When individuals perceive their future as vivid and certain, they are more likely, for example, to eat healthy food and abstain from cigarettes (Moss, Skinner, et al, 2018). Indeed, future clarity has been shown to be associated with behaviors that affect finances in impending retirees (Moss, Ghafoori, & Smith, 2018).…”

Section: Limitations Of Previous Research and Aim Of The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 97%

“…To illustrate, some people feel their future seems vivid and certain, called future clarity (McElwee & Haugh, 2010). They can imagine their future in some detail (McElwee & Haugh, 2010;Moss, Skinner, Alexi, & Wilson, 2018). As Amit, Algom, and Trope (2009) showed, a future that seems vivid-replete with sensory and emotional details-feels closer in time.…”

Section: Clarity Of the Futurementioning

confidence: 99%

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When are impending retirees inspired to save: The role of agreeableness and future clarity

Moss¹,

Ghafoori²

2020

Journal of Financial Therapy

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In the decade or so before they retire, many individuals do not save enough money to maintain their lifestyle after retirement. According to the self-continuity hypothesis, as individuals approach a transition in their life, such as retirement, they are not as willing to sacrifice pleasure now to benefit their future, impeding their tendency to save money judiciously and to manage their finances prudently. This longitudinal study, however, tested the hypothesis that impending retirees who are agreeable or perceive their future as vivid and certain, called future clarity, are more likely to manage their finances prudently, despite this looming transition. In particular, people who are agreeable tend to perceive their identity as more stable because the extent to which they value harmonious relationships does not abruptly escalate as retirement approaches. People who report future clarity tend to perceive the future as closer in time and, therefore, are more willing to sacrifice their pleasure to benefit this future. To assess these hypotheses, 597 impending retirees completed the same questionnaire twice, in consecutive years, to gauge their tendency to manage their finances prudently, called financial control, as well as their agreeableness and future clarity. As hypothesized, financial control tended to subside over time, but agreeableness and future clarity diminished this decline. As these findings imply, if impending retirees are exposed to opportunities they could pursue after they retireclarifying their future goals and pursuits-they are likely to manage their finances more judiciously now.

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Section: Limitations Of Previous Research and Aim Of The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Clarity Of the Futurementioning

confidence: 99%

When are impending retirees inspired to save: The role of agreeableness and future clarity

Moss¹,

Ghafoori²

2020

Journal of Financial Therapy

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In our review of the literature, we found 12 articles in which researchers measured vividness of the future. In the majority of the studies, researchers used self-report measures to assess clarity or vividness of images of the future self [8,51]. In contrast, two studies used a qualitative approach, coding vividness from participants' brief descriptions of their future [18,41].…”

Section: The Vividness Component: Clarity and Ease Of Imagining The Fmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Researchers studying vividness have used several labels for this component including "vivid mental imagery" [7], "episodic future thinking" [94], "future clarity" [51], and "vividness of the future self" [4]. Although these programs of research use diverse labels, their primary focus is on measuring the clarity of mental images of the future self.…”

Section: The Vividness Component: Clarity and Ease Of Imagining The Fmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A gap in previous research involves testing the independent predictive validity of the three components. One exception examined two of the components, finding that vividness, but not relatedness, predicted more positive and less negative affect [51]. Given the positive relationships that have been observed among the three components, it is important to test the independent predictive validity of each component.…”

Section: Relationships Among the Three Componentsmentioning

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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Future self‐continuity and depression among college students: The role of presence of meaning and perceived social support

Xue

Yun

Fan

et al. 2023

Journal of Adolescence

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IntroductionFuture self‐continuity has been shown to have a protective effect against depression. This study aims to investigate the longitudinal relationship between future self‐continuity and depression among college students, and to explore the mediating role of the presence of meaning and the moderating role of perceived social support.MethodsWe conducted two studies in China in 2022 and 2023. Study 1 was a longitudinal cross‐lagged study that examined the relationship between future self‐continuity and depression among 173 participants (49.13% females, Mage = 19.39, SD = 1.63). Study 2 was a cross‐sectional study that explored the mediating role of the presence of meaning and the moderating role of perceived social support among 426 participants (48.59% females, Mage = 19.30, SD = 1.60).ResultsStudy 1 showed that future self‐continuity (T1) could significantly predict depression (T2), but depression (T1) could not predict future self‐continuity (T2). Study 2 showed that after controlling for gender, the presence of meaning mediated the relationship between future self‐continuity and depression, whereas perceived social support moderated the first half of the mediated model's pathway and the direct pathway.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that enhancing the future self‐continuity of college students and increasing the level of presence of meaning are effective measures for alleviating depression. Meanwhile, educators and families are called upon to provide more social support to college students.

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Look into the crystal ball: Can vivid images of the future enhance physical health?

Cited by 8 publications

References 37 publications

When are impending retirees inspired to save: The role of agreeableness and future clarity

When are impending retirees inspired to save: The role of agreeableness and future clarity

A test of a triadic conceptualization of future self-identification

Future self‐continuity and depression among college students: The role of presence of meaning and perceived social support

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