The effects of episodic simulation on the cognitive and emotional expectancies related to personal goals

Episodic simulation influences future expectancies such as likelihood, controllability, and anticipated emotions of future events. We extended the use of episodic simulation to expectancies associated with personal goals. Participants listed personal goals and provided ratings of cognitive and emotional expectancies. They then completed one of four tasks (goal-related episodic simulation, goal-unrelated episodic simulation, neutral imagery, or letter-search) before providing two further sets of ratings. We also measured depressive symptoms. In line with hypotheses, results showed that ratings of controllability increased following both episodic simulation tasks for those experiencing high levels of depressive symptoms. This was maintained after a short 10-minute delay for those who had completed the goal-unrelated episodic simulation. These findings are in line with the notion that the effects of positive episodic simulation generalise to expectancies about future events beyond those that form part of the training itself, by fostering a more optimistic orientation. Findings for other expectancy ratings were not in line with hypotheses, with no beneficial changes in likelihood, importance, or anticipated disappointment. Potential reasons for the inconsistencies with previous literature are discussed, as are the implications for future work exploring the effects of episodic simulation on goal-oriented motivation and achievement.