Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2026

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Memory-Enhancing Effect of Emotion
Published on: May 4, 2011
Shared cognitive processes underlying past and future thinking: the impact of imagery and concurrent task demands on
Rachel J Anderson1, Stephen A Dewhurst, Robert A Nash
1Department of Psychology, University of Hull, Hull, England. Rachel.Anderson@hull.ac.uk
Abstract:
Recent literature has argued that whereas remembering the past and imagining the future make use of shared cognitive substrates, simulating future events places heavier demands on executive resources. These propositions were explored in 3 experiments comparing the impact of imagery and concurrent task demands on speed and accuracy of past event retrieval and future event simulation. Results provide support for the suggestion that both past and future episodes can be constructed through 2 mechanisms: a noneffortful "direct" pathway and a controlled, effortful "generative" pathway. However, limited evidence emerged for the suggestion that simulating of future, compared with retrieving past, episodes places heavier demands on executive resources; only under certain conditions did it emerge as a more error prone and lengthier process. The findings are discussed in terms of how retrieval and simulation make use of the same cognitive substrates in subtly different ways.
Related Concept Videos
Impact of Schemas
Counterfactual Thinking
Cognitivism
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process information is...
Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory
The Influence of Cognition on Affect
Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition
