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Stuck in the Present? Constraints on Children's Episodic Prospection
Simona Ghetti1, Christine Coughlin2
1Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, 135 Young Hall, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, 267 Cousteau Place, Davis, CA, 95618, USA.
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
|September 30, 2018
Summary
Children and adolescents show limited ability to simulate future events. This developmental limitation is linked to retrieval flexibility and self-knowledge, with future research avenues identified.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Development
- Developmental Psychology
- Future Simulation
Background:
- Children's capacity for future simulation is increasingly studied.
- Limitations in future simulation extend into adolescence.
Purpose of the Study:
- Propose an account for the protracted developmental trajectory of future simulation.
- Explore the roles of retrieval flexibility and self-knowledge.
Main Methods:
- This study proposes a theoretical account.
- It integrates existing research on cognitive development and future thinking.
Main Results:
- Future simulation abilities develop slowly, persisting into adolescence.
- Retrieval flexibility across different timescales impacts future simulation.
- Self-knowledge is a crucial component in developing future simulation abilities.
Conclusions:
- The development of future simulation is a prolonged process.
- Understanding retrieval flexibility and self-knowledge is key to explaining this trajectory.
- Further research is needed to explore these developmental aspects.