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Related Experiment Video

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The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

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Published on: August 25, 2023

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow: Individual differences in future self-continuity account for saving.

Hal Ersner-Hershfield¹, M Tess Garton, Kacey Ballard

¹Department of Psychology, Stanford University.

Judgment and Decision Making

|September 24, 2009

Summary

Feeling connected to your future self can significantly impact financial behavior. Higher future self-continuity is linked to better saving habits and reduced impulsive spending, promoting long-term financial health.

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Area of Science:

Behavioral Economics
Psychology
Neuroscience

Background:

Individual differences exist in the ability to delay gratification.
Perception of self across time influences decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

To test the "future self-continuity" hypothesis.
To investigate the association between future self-continuity and saving behaviors.
To validate a novel index for measuring future self-continuity.

Main Methods:

Three experiments were conducted.
A novel index assessed future self-continuity.
Participants completed laboratory tasks and reported on everyday saving habits.
Statistical controls for age and education were applied.

Main Results:

Higher future self-continuity predicted reduced discounting of future rewards.
Increased future self-continuity correlated with greater similarity in self-descriptions across time.
Greater future self-continuity was associated with higher lifetime financial asset accumulation.

Conclusions:

The novel future self-continuity index is reliable and valid.
Enhanced future self-continuity may promote saving behaviors.
Perception of self continuity influences long-term financial planning.