Vividness of the Future Self Predicts Delinquency

Abstract

The tendency to live in the here and now, and the failure to think through the delayed consequences of behavior, is one of the strongest individual-level correlates of delinquency. We tested the hypothesis that this correlation results from a limited ability to imagine one's self in the future, which leads to opting for immediate gratification. Strengthening the vividness of the future self should therefore reduce involvement in delinquency. We tested and found support for this hypothesis in two studies. In Study 1, compared with participants in a control condition, those who wrote a letter to their future self were less inclined to make delinquent choices. In Study 2, participants who interacted with a realistic digital version of their future, age-progressed self in a virtual environment were less likely than control participants to cheat on a subsequent task.

Are Differences Between Partners Always Detrimental? The Moderating Role of Future Connectedness

“…Relationship counsellors, therefore, should perhaps cultivate the conditions that enable partners to feel this sense of connection to the future. Even simple exercises, such as inviting clients to write to their future identity (van Gelder, Hershfield, & Nordgren, 2013), or to imagine, as vividly as possible, their future aspirations as well as two or three main activities that need to be undertaken to achieve these goals, could diminish the resentment that differences between partners can evoke.…”

Using virtual reality in criminological research

“…In the following section, we will discuss several examples of such research. The first example comes from a recent study by Van Gelder et al (2013).…”

“…Theory testing: meeting your future self Van Gelder et al (2013) used VR technology to tackle a long-standing problem in criminology. Delinquent acts have in common not just their illegality, but the fact that they offer immediate benefits, such as cash, sexual gratification or excitement, while simultaneously entailing the risk of long-term costs greatly exceeding the benefits (Hirschi, 2004).…”

“…However, the cognitive mechanism underlying this failure is not yet fully understood. Van Gelder et al (2013) hypothesized that delinquent individuals have difficulty imagining themselves in the future. That is, their 'present' and 'future' selves are psychologically unconnected, as a consequence of which they fail to take delayed consequences into account and tend to opt for immediate gratification by way of criminal behaviour.…”

“…To test this hypothesis, Van Gelder et al (2013) used immersive VR to have participants meet their future self. Their IVR environment consisted of a room with a virtual mirror hanging in the middle of one of its walls.…”