Measures of future self-continuity
Some people feel their identity in the future—their values, aspirations, and motivations, for example—may diverge substantially from their identity now. In contrast, other people feel their identity in the future, perhaps ten years from now, may overlap considerably with their identity now, called future self-continuity or connectedness to the future. This future self-continuity promotes many benefits, perhaps including humility as well.
To measure this future self-continuity, Ersner-Hershfield et al. (2009) devised a task in which seven pairs of circles, with varying levels of overlap, appear on a screen. For each pair, the left circle represents the identity of participants now. The right circle represents the identity of participants 10 years in the future. Participants specify which of these pairs represented the extent to which their identity now overlaps with their identity in the future (for a continuous version of this measure, see Kamphorst et al., 2017).
Alternatively, participants may complete the future self-continuity questionnaire (Sokol & Serper, 2020). This questionnaire comprises 10 items and three sub-scales including
- similar, such as “How similar is your personality now to what it will be like 10 years from now?”
- vivid, such as “How vividly can you imagine what you will be like in 10 years from now?”, and
- positive affect, such as “Do you like what your personality wil probably be like 10 years from now?”
All three sub-scales are positively associated with
- other measures of future self-continuity,
- the degree to which individuals consider the future consequences of their actions,
- perceived quality of life.
Likewise, all three subscales are inversely associated with
- measures of depression, anxiety, stress, or hopelessness,
- the tendency of individuals to prefer modest immediate rewards over larger future rewards,
Possible relationship with humility
For several reasons, this future self-continuity is likely to foster humility. When individuals experience this future self-continuity, they are more willing to sacrifice their pleasure now to benefit the future. For example, they are more willing to earn $154 on year in the future than $120 now (e.g., Bartels & Rips, 2010; Bartels and Urminsky, 2011). Similarly, if people experience future self-continuity, they are more inclined to save money effectively (Ersner-Hershfield et al., 2009) as well as maintain their health better (e.g., Rutchick et al., 2018). Consequently,
- individuals who experience future self-continuity should be more inspired to develop capabilities that could be useful in the future.
- for example, and consistent with the previous research (Shen et al., 2024), people who experience future self-continuity should be more likely to believe their capabilities are modifiable, called a growth mindset.
- people who believe their capabilities are modifiable do not perceive themselves as fundamentally superior and thus tend to be humble (Porter & Schumann, 2018).
As this sequence of arguments implies, if people feel their identity in the future should overlap closely with their identity now, they should exhibit greater humility. Consistent with this possibility, Hershfield et al. (2012) did indeed uncover a relationship between future self-continuity and the honesty-humility scale in the HEXACO model of personality. Accordingly, practices, initiatives, or circumstances that foster this future self-continuity may also promote humility.
Activities that promote future self-continuity
The research on this topic has uncovered a variety of activities or exercises that prime future self-continuity, at least transiently. For example, in one study (Hershfield et al., 2012), some participants were asked to contemplate the likely similarities between themselves now and themselves 10 years in the future. This exercise fostered more ethical beliefs, consistent with the assumption that such activities may prime future self-continuity.
In another study (Bartels & Urminsky, 2011), some participants were instructed to judge how readily they could identify two reasons their identity would remain stable over the next year. Because this task is simple, these individuals, inadvertently, assume that many other reasons could be retrieved as well. They will, therefore, presume their identity would remain stable, priming future self-continuity. Consistent with this premise, participants who completed this task—compared to participants who attempted to identify ten reasons their identity would remain stable over the next year—were more likely to prefer significant amounts of money in the future than smaller amounts of money now.
Alternatively, in a study that van Gelder et al. (2013) published, to elicit a sense of future self-continuity, some participants were granted five minutes to write a letter to themselves 20 years in the future, comprising 200 to 300 words. They wrote about which topics are important and dear to them now and how they feel about their life. In the control condition, participants instead wrote a letter to themselves 3 months in the future. The activity that was designed to foster a sense of future self-continuity diminished the inclination of individuals to perpetrate unethical behaviour
Chishima and Wilson (2021) validated a similar procedure, in which students wrote a letter to their future selves but also replied from the perspective of this future person. Students who sent a letter and received a letter from their future self were more likely to experience future self-continuity than students who merely wrote a letter to this future self.
Rather than answer questions, in one study (Bartels & Urminsky, 2011), some participants merely read a passage that indicates that core identity is likely to remain stable, rather than fluctuate considerably, over the next few years. These participants were more inclined to prefer significant amounts of money in the future than smaller amounts of money now, indicating this activity did indeed promote future self-continuity. Accordingly, to promote future self-continuity and thus humility, people could
- contemplate the likely similarities between themselves now and themselves 10 years in the future,
- consider two reasons their identity—their values, interests, and personality, for example—may remain stable over the next year, or
- write a letter to themselves 20 years in the future about their priorities and life.
Events that may impede future self-continuity
Sometimes, individuals anticipate some impending but key event, such as an impending retrenchment. These events, especially if undesirable, may diminish future self-continuity (Peetz & Wilson, 2013; see also Sadeh & Karniol, 2012) and impede humility.
In one study, conducted by conducted by Peetz and Wilson (2013), participants were instructed to contemplate an adverse or neutral event that could unfold in six months. Next, these individuals were granted an opportunity to discuss a forthcoming holiday, such as Independence Day. They could discuss any holiday, regardless of whether this day was within six months or after six months
If participants had imagined an adverse event or change that could unfold within six months, they were more inclined to discuss a holiday that is celebrated within this period rather than after six months. In a subsequent research study, whenever participants were encouraged to describe themselves positively, priming a self-enhancement motive, this pattern was especially pronounced (Peetz & Wilson, 2013).
Arguably, when individuals anticipate an adverse event in the future, they attempt to orient their attention to times that precede this event. Consequently, they may not be as likely to experience future self-continuity with times after this event. To override this problem, individuals should deliberately formulate and initiate plans that are relevant after this adverse event.
Events that affect feelings of power
Other events or experiences may also affect future self-continuity. To illustrate, in some circumstances, people may experience a sense of power. They may feel they can influence other individuals. They also do not feel they are constrained by the whims of other people. In this state, individuals are more likely to feel they can shape their future and destiny. They are not as concerned that events, outside their control, might affect their lives. Consequently, when people experience a sense of power, they may report more future self-continuity, potentially increasing humility.
To corroborate this possibility, Joshi and Fast (2013) conducted a series of studies. In these studies, participants completed a sequence of tasks, such as a general knowledge test, in groups. Some but not all participants were assigned the role of manager, instilling a sense of power. After they were assigned this role, but before they began the tasks, all participants completed a measure of task that ascertains whether they prefer small amounts of money now or larger amounts of money in the future. Furthermore, they completed a measure that gauges future self-continuity.
If participants experienced a sense of power, they were more inclined to prefer larger amounts of money in the future than smaller amounts now. Future self-continuity mediated this effect. Therefore, to promote future self-continuity, individuals could recall times in which they experienced a sense of power. Or managers should uncover opportunities to empower their staff.
Other states that affect future self-continuity
Besides feelings of power, other emotional or bodily states can also affect future self-continuity. For example, when the physiological needs of people are heightened, such as when hunger or sexual urges are primed, individuals are not as likely to experience future self-continuity. Arguably, when individuals experience powerful visceral cues, their attention is confined to opportunities that could diminish these cues, including bodily sensations rather than future goals. Because they are not as sensitive to future goals or aspirations, they may not be as attuned to similarities between their values now and their values in the future, impeding future self-continuity.
To illustrate, in one set of the studies (Li & Zhang, 2014), half the male participants were exposed to images of sexy women. Other male participants were exposed to images of beautiful landscapes or women who were not especially sexy. Next, the researchers assessed the degree to which these men experienced a sense of future self-continuity as well a connection to other people. If exposed to sexual images, people felt less similar or connected to both other individuals and to their future identity. Hunger also generated a similar pattern of results.
Virtual reality, AI, and interactions with the future
As Ganschow et al. (2021) revealed, researchers and practitioners can also deploy virtual reality to foster a sense of future self-continuity. In this study, participants first attempted to write about their ideal future self, ten years in the future—such as a business, book launch, or travel they would like to experience. Next, they received a series of 9 questions to ask this future person, such as
- Future self, how are you feeling today?
- Future self, what are you celebrating?
- Future self, what did you do or change in the last years that helped you achieve your goals?
- What were some difficult experiences you overcame and how?
- What one lesson did you learn from these experiences?
- Future self, how would you advise me to start working towards this goal?
Then, from the perspective of this future person, they answered this question to themselves now. Participants who were embedded in virtual reality could press a button to observe a different perspective of themselves. This virtual reality tool enabled participants to feel they were asking and answering questions from the perspective of different identities. Participants who were not embedded in virtual reality shifted between two chairs, depending on whether they were speaking from the perspective of themselves now or themselves in the future.
These experiences significantly enhanced future self-continuity. The participants who were embedded in virtual reality experienced more benefits however, such as increases in the degree to which they felt similar to their future identity, perceived their future vividly, and liked their future identity.
Similarly, as Pataranutaporn et al. (2024) revealed, when individuals converse with a version of their future identity, generated by AI, their future self-continuity also increased. Specifically, this future version of themselves was guided by the goals and personality of these participants. To enhance the fidelity of this experience, the AI tool also generated a narrative that relates their life now to this future life.
The moderating effect of self-concept clarity
The degree to which future self-continuity inspires people to sacrifice their pleasure now to benefit their future may depend on other characteristics or circumstances. Specifically, as Xue et al. (2024) revealed, self-concept clarity— the extent to which people feel sure about who they are—moderates this effect of future self-continuity. This clarity tends to increase the extent to which future self-continuity is associated with the tendency of people to prefer large rewards in the future to smaller rewards now.
In this study, participants first completed a measure of future self-continuity as well as a measure of self-concept clarity, called the Self-Concept Clarity Scale (Campbell et al., 1996). That is, to measure self-concept clarity, individuals specified the degree to which they agree with 12 statements, such as
- In general, I have a clear sense of who I am and what I am,
- Sometimes I think I know other people better than I know myself [reverse-scored]
- My beliefs about myself seem to change very frequently [reverse-scored]
- I seldom experience conflict between the different aspects of my personality.
Finally, participants completed a task in which they needed to choose between modest rewards now or larger rewards in the future. As hypothesised, if participants reported self-concept clarity, future self-continuity was positively associated with the extent to which these individuals preferred larger rewards in the future to smaller rewards now. In contrast, if participants did not report self-concept clarity, future self-continuity was not associated with these preferences.
Presumably, if people are not certain about their identity—such as their values, interests, personality, or motivations—they are not sure how to benefit their future life. So, even if they experience future self-continuity, they do not necessarily initiate actions that could be helpful to their future. Initiatives that help individuals clarify their values, interests, personality, or motivations could thus magnify the benefits of future self-continuity.
