IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0242504.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A test of a triadic conceptualization of future self-identification

Author

Listed:
  • Michael T Bixter
  • Samantha L McMichael
  • Cameron J Bunker
  • Robert Mark Adelman
  • Morris A Okun
  • Kevin J Grimm
  • Oliver Graudejus
  • Virginia S Y Kwan

Abstract

People encounter intertemporal decisions every day and often engage in behaviors that are not good for their future. One factor that may explain these decisions is the perception of their distal future self. An emerging body of research suggests that individuals vary in how they perceive their future self and many perceive their future self as a different person. The present research aimed to (1) build on and extend Hershfield’s et al. (2011) review of the existing literature and advance the conceptualization of the relationship between the current and future self, (2) extend and develop measures of this relationship, and (3) examine whether and how this relationship predicts intrapsychic and achievement outcomes. The results of the literature review suggested that prior research mostly focused on one or two of the following components: (a) perceived relatedness between the current and future self in terms of similarity and connectedness, (b) vividness in imagining the future self, and (c) degree of positivity felt toward the future self. Additionally, differences in how researchers have labeled the overall construct lead us to propose future self-identification as a new label for the three-component construct. Our research built on existing measures to test the validity of a three-component model of future self-identification. Across three samples of first-year undergraduates, this research established the psychometric properties of the measure, and then examined the relationships between the components and four outcome domains of interest: (1) psychological well-being (self-esteem, hope), (2) imagination of the future (visual imagery of future events, perceived temporal distance), (3) self-control, and (4) academic performance. We demonstrated that the three components of future self-identification were correlated but independent factors. Additionally, the three components differed in their unique relationships with the outcome domains, demonstrating the utility of measuring all three components of future self-identification when seeking to predict important psychological and behavioral outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael T Bixter & Samantha L McMichael & Cameron J Bunker & Robert Mark Adelman & Morris A Okun & Kevin J Grimm & Oliver Graudejus & Virginia S Y Kwan, 2020. "A test of a triadic conceptualization of future self-identification," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(11), pages 1-39, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0242504
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242504
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0242504
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0242504&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0242504?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Davide Pietroni & Sibylla Verdi Hughes, 2016. "Nudge to the future: capitalizing on illusory superiority bias to mitigate temporal discounting," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 15(2), pages 247-264, November.
    2. Daniel M. Bartels & Oleg Urminsky, 2011. "On Intertemporal Selfishness: How the Perceived Instability of Identity Underlies Impatient Consumption," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 38(1), pages 182-198.
    3. Nathan D. Martin & Kenneth I. Spenner & Sarah A. Mustillo, 2017. "A Test of Leading Explanations for the College Racial-Ethnic Achievement Gap: Evidence from a Longitudinal Case Study," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 58(6), pages 617-645, September.
    4. Xiuping Li & Meng Zhang, 2014. "The Effects of Heightened Physiological Needs on Perception of Psychological Connectedness," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(4), pages 1078-1088.
    5. Hershfield, Hal E. & Cohen, Taya R. & Thompson, Leigh, 2012. "Short horizons and tempting situations: Lack of continuity to our future selves leads to unethical decision making and behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 117(2), pages 298-310.
    6. Xinshu Zhao & John G. Lynch & Qimei Chen, 2010. "Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and Truths about Mediation Analysis," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(2), pages 197-206, August.
    7. Daniel M. Bartels & Oleg Urminsky, 2015. "To Know and to Care: How Awareness and Valuation of the Future Jointly Shape Consumer Spending," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(6), pages 1469-1485.
    8. Strömbäck, Camilla & Lind, Thérèse & Skagerlund, Kenny & Västfjäll, Daniel & Tinghög, Gustav, 2017. "Does self-control predict financial behavior and financial well-being?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(C), pages 30-38.
    9. Xiuping Li & Meng Zhang, 2014. "The Effects of Heightened Physiological Needs on Perception of Psychological Connectedness," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(4), pages 1078-1088.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stacie F. Waites & Adam Farmer & Carol L. Esmark Jones, 2021. "Building toward a solid foundation: The effect of thinking concretely about the future," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 254-273, March.
    2. Xiaoke Yang & Yuanhao Huang & Xiaoying Cai & Yijing Song & Hui Jiang & Qian Chen & Qiuhua Chen, 2021. "Using Imagination to Overcome Fear: How Mental Simulation Nudges Consumers’ Purchase Intentions for Upcycled Food," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-21, January.
    3. Cowan, Kirsten, 2020. "Anything you can imagine is possible: How imagining can overcome visceral drive states elicited in promotional advertising," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 529-538.
    4. Geoffrey Fisher, 2021. "Intertemporal Choices Are Causally Influenced by Fluctuations in Visual Attention," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(8), pages 4961-4981, August.
    5. Jonathan Z. Zhang, 2019. "Dynamic customer interdependence," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 723-746, July.
    6. Diptiman Banerji & Ramendra Singh & Prashant Mishra, 2020. "Friendships in marketing: a taxonomy and future research directions," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 10(3), pages 223-243, December.
    7. S. Arunachalam & Sridhar N. Ramaswami & Pol Herrmann & Doug Walker, 2018. "Innovation pathway to profitability: the role of entrepreneurial orientation and marketing capabilities," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 744-766, July.
    8. Bilgihan, Anil & Madanoglu, Melih & Ricci, Peter, 2016. "Service attributes as drivers of behavioral loyalty in casinos: The mediating effect of attitudinal loyalty," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 14-21.
    9. Kareklas, Ioannis & Muehling, Darrel D. & King, Skyler, 2019. "The effect of color and self-view priming in persuasive communications," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 33-49.
    10. Ashish Arora & Michelle Gittelman & Sarah Kaplan & John Lynch & Will Mitchell & Nicolaj Siggelkow & Aaron K. Chatterji & Michael Findley & Nathan M. Jensen & Stephan Meier & Daniel Nielson, 2016. "Field experiments in strategy research," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1), pages 116-132, January.
    11. Yi Yong Lee & Chin Lay Gan & Tze Wei Liew, 2023. "Thwarting Instant Messaging Phishing Attacks: The Role of Self-Efficacy and the Mediating Effect of Attitude towards Online Sharing of Personal Information," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-23, February.
    12. FeCheng Ma & Farhan Khan & Kashif Ullah Khan & Si XiangYun, 2021. "Investigating the Impact of Information Technology, Absorptive Capacity, and Dynamic Capabilities on Firm Performance: An Empirical Study," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, November.
    13. Mbassi, Christophe Martial & Messono, Omang Ombolo, 2023. "Historical technology and current economic development: Reassessing the nature of the relationship," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    14. Nosheena Yasir & Nasir Mahmood & Hafiz Shakir Mehmood & Osama Rashid & An Liren, 2021. "The Integrated Role of Personal Values and Theory of Planned Behavior to Form a Sustainable Entrepreneurial Intention," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-21, August.
    15. Jianzhuang Zheng & Muhammad Usman Khurram & Lifeng Chen, 2022. "Can Green Innovation Affect ESG Ratings and Financial Performance? Evidence from Chinese GEM Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-32, July.
    16. Mia M. Vainio & Daiva Daukantaitė, 2016. "Grit and Different Aspects of Well-Being: Direct and Indirect Relationships via Sense of Coherence and Authenticity," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 2119-2147, October.
    17. Christian W. Scheiner & Christian V. Baccarella & John Bessant & Kai-Ingo Voigt, 2018. "Participation Motives, Moral Disengagement, And Unethical Behaviour In Idea Competitions," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(06), pages 1-24, August.
    18. Yu Ding & Wayne S. DeSarbo & Dominique M. Hanssens & Kamel Jedidi & John G. Lynch & Donald R. Lehmann, 2020. "The past, present, and future of measurement and methods in marketing analysis," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 175-186, September.
    19. G. Rejikumar & Aswathy Asokan-Ajitha & Sofi Dinesh & Ajay Jose, 2022. "The role of cognitive complexity and risk aversion in online herd behavior," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 585-621, June.
    20. Lefroy, Kathryn & Tsarenko, Yelena, 2014. "Dependence and effectiveness in the nonprofit-corporate alliance: The mediating effect of objectives achievement," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(9), pages 1959-1966.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0242504. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.