Make it real: Belief in occurrence within episodic future thought.
Alexandra Ernst1, Arnaud D'Argembeau2
1Department of Psychology, Psychology and Neuroscience of Cognition Research Unit, University of Liège, Place des Orateurs 1 (B33), B-4000, Liège, Belgium. Alexandra.Ernst@ulg.ac.be.
Memory & Cognition
|May 28, 2017
Summary
The sense of personal future events arises from metacognitive appraisals, specifically belief in occurrence, which is linked to autobiographical context and personal goals. These subjective feelings are distinct and influenced by varying factors.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psychology
Background:
- Episodic future thinking (EFT) is crucial for planning and decision-making.
- The subjective sense of personal future events remains incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the determinants of subjective belief in the occurrence of imagined future events.
- To explore the relationship between belief in occurrence and other subjective appraisals in EFT.
Main Methods:
- Participants provided justifications for belief in occurrence for past and future events.
- Subjective feelings (belief in occurrence, autonoetic experience, belief in accuracy) and mental representation characteristics were assessed.
Main Results:
- Belief in the occurrence of future events correlated with autobiographical integration, personal goals, and plausibility.
- Belief in occurrence, autonoetic experience, and belief in accuracy were distinct appraisals with different determinants.
Conclusions:
- A new theoretical model for subjective feelings in EFT is proposed.
- Belief in occurrence, stemming from metacognitive appraisals, shapes the personal sense of future events.
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