Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 10, 2026

A New Method for Inducing a Depression-Like Behavior in Rats
Published on: February 22, 2018
Distancing the present self from the past and the future: Psychological distance in anxiety and depression
Luca Rinaldi1,2, Francesca Locati1, Laura Parolin1
1a Department of Psychology , University of Milano-Bicocca , Milan , Italy.
Abstract:
Humans show a systematic tendency to perceive the future as psychologically closer than the past. Based on the clinical hypothesis that anxiety would be associated more with future threat life events, whereas depression with past loss events, here we explored whether people with anxiety- and depression-related personality traits perceive differently the psychological distance of temporal events. Results showed that the common tendency to perceive the future as psychologically closer than the past is exaggerated in individuals with anxiety-related personality traits, whereas this asymmetry drastically shrinks in individuals with depression-related personality traits. Beyond substantiating the hypothesis that the past and the future are differently faced by people with depression- and anxiety-related personality traits, the present findings suggest that temporal orientation of one's self may be greatly altered in anxiety and depression.
Related Concept Videos
Self-Discrepancy and Its Effects
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood
Depressive Disorders: Etiology
Biological Factors in Depression
Biological predispositions significantly influence the risk of developing depressive disorders. Genetic studies highlight the role of variations in the serotonin transporter...
Self-Discrepancy Theory
Horney's Sociocultural Approach
Psychological Responses to Stress

