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Vividness of the future self predicts delinquency
Jean-Louis van Gelder1, Hal E Hershfield, Loran F Nordgren
1Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. jlvangelder@nscr.nl
Psychological Science
|April 18, 2013
Summary
Individuals who struggle to envision their future selves are more prone to delinquency. Strengthening future self-awareness, through writing or virtual interaction, significantly reduced delinquent behaviors in studies.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Criminology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Delinquency is strongly correlated with a focus on immediate gratification and a failure to consider future consequences.
- A limited ability to mentally project oneself into the future may underlie this tendency.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that enhancing future self-vividness can reduce involvement in delinquency.
- To investigate if interventions aimed at strengthening the future self can mitigate immediate gratification-seeking behaviors.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted to test the hypothesis.
- Study 1 involved participants writing a letter to their future selves.
- Study 2 utilized a virtual reality environment where participants interacted with an age-progressed digital version of themselves.
Main Results:
- Participants in Study 1 who wrote to their future selves showed reduced inclination towards delinquent choices compared to a control group.
- In Study 2, interaction with a digital future self led to significantly less cheating on a subsequent task compared to controls.
- Both methods of strengthening future self-vividness demonstrated a reduction in delinquent behaviors.
Conclusions:
- The findings support the hypothesis that a limited ability to imagine one's future self contributes to delinquency.
- Interventions that increase the vividness and salience of the future self can be an effective strategy for reducing delinquent behavior.
- Future self-connection is a critical factor in mitigating impulsive and short-sighted decision-making.
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