scholarly journals Promoting farsighted decisions via episodic future thinking: A meta-analysis.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah A. Rösch ◽  
Davide F. Stramaccia ◽  
Roland G. Benoit
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Episodic Future Thinking ◽  
Future Thinking

scholarly journals The effect of episodic future thinking on delay discounting

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rebecca Olsen
Keyword(s):  
Delay Discounting ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Episodic Future Thinking ◽  
Future Thinking ◽  
Design Studies ◽  
Indifference Points ◽  
Future Events ◽  
Participant Characteristics

<p>Delay discounting refers to the fact that rewards lose their value if they are delayed. Excessive delay discounting is associated with various health-related problems such as over-eating and substance abuse. One phenomenon shown to reduce delay discounting is Episodic Future Thinking (EFT; imagining personal future events). Across multiple experiments and a meta-analysis, the current thesis examined the reliability of the effect of EFT on delay discounting and also sought to clarify the components of EFT that are necessary to reduce delay discounting.  Experiment 1 replicated the EFT effect using a common titrating-amount procedure, and the meta-analysis based on 40 independent studies confirmed that EFT has a reliable, medium-sized effect on delay discounting. The meta-analysis also assessed the robustness of the EFT effect across various methodological features and participant characteristics. A multiple meta-regression revealed that the between-study variability in the size of the EFT effect was accounted for by study design and type of discounting measure. Within-subjects design studies had significantly smaller effect sizes than between-subjects design studies. Studies that used k as a discounting rate measure had significantly smaller effect sizes than studies that used area under the discounting curve or other atheoretical discounting measures. The size of the EFT effect was robust across different participant characteristics and ages, suggesting that EFT may be utilized as an effective intervention for a variety of age groups and impulsive behaviors.  Experiments 2A, 2B and 2C assessed the suitability of an alternative and briefer delay discounting procedure (in which participants simply report their indifference points) for subsequent EFT experiments. The report indifference points procedure produced a high percentage of invalid data, a finding that was replicated across all three experiments. We therefore continued to use the well-established titrating-amount procedure in subsequent studies.  Experiment 3A found that episodic past thinking (imagining personal past events) and semantic future thinking (estimating what a person could buy with the larger, delayed amount) had no effect on discounting, indicating that both episodic thinking and future thinking are necessary components of the EFT effect. Experiment 3A results also indicated that financial relevance alone is not sufficient to reducing discounting. Experiment 3B found that the future events also need to be personally relevant to reduce discounting, and that participants perceived EFT to reduce their discounting by primarily making the larger, delayed reward more valuable. We also showed that demand characteristics, where participants change their behavior to conform to the researcher’s expectations, are an unlikely explanation for the EFT effects found in Experiments 3A and 3B. Further research is warranted to form a better understanding of the mechanism(s) through which EFT reduces delay discounting.</p>

scholarly journals The effect of episodic future thinking on delay discounting

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rebecca Olsen
Keyword(s):  
Delay Discounting ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Episodic Future Thinking ◽  
Future Thinking ◽  
Design Studies ◽  
Indifference Points ◽  
Future Events ◽  
Participant Characteristics

<p>Delay discounting refers to the fact that rewards lose their value if they are delayed. Excessive delay discounting is associated with various health-related problems such as over-eating and substance abuse. One phenomenon shown to reduce delay discounting is Episodic Future Thinking (EFT; imagining personal future events). Across multiple experiments and a meta-analysis, the current thesis examined the reliability of the effect of EFT on delay discounting and also sought to clarify the components of EFT that are necessary to reduce delay discounting.  Experiment 1 replicated the EFT effect using a common titrating-amount procedure, and the meta-analysis based on 40 independent studies confirmed that EFT has a reliable, medium-sized effect on delay discounting. The meta-analysis also assessed the robustness of the EFT effect across various methodological features and participant characteristics. A multiple meta-regression revealed that the between-study variability in the size of the EFT effect was accounted for by study design and type of discounting measure. Within-subjects design studies had significantly smaller effect sizes than between-subjects design studies. Studies that used k as a discounting rate measure had significantly smaller effect sizes than studies that used area under the discounting curve or other atheoretical discounting measures. The size of the EFT effect was robust across different participant characteristics and ages, suggesting that EFT may be utilized as an effective intervention for a variety of age groups and impulsive behaviors.  Experiments 2A, 2B and 2C assessed the suitability of an alternative and briefer delay discounting procedure (in which participants simply report their indifference points) for subsequent EFT experiments. The report indifference points procedure produced a high percentage of invalid data, a finding that was replicated across all three experiments. We therefore continued to use the well-established titrating-amount procedure in subsequent studies.  Experiment 3A found that episodic past thinking (imagining personal past events) and semantic future thinking (estimating what a person could buy with the larger, delayed amount) had no effect on discounting, indicating that both episodic thinking and future thinking are necessary components of the EFT effect. Experiment 3A results also indicated that financial relevance alone is not sufficient to reducing discounting. Experiment 3B found that the future events also need to be personally relevant to reduce discounting, and that participants perceived EFT to reduce their discounting by primarily making the larger, delayed reward more valuable. We also showed that demand characteristics, where participants change their behavior to conform to the researcher’s expectations, are an unlikely explanation for the EFT effects found in Experiments 3A and 3B. Further research is warranted to form a better understanding of the mechanism(s) through which EFT reduces delay discounting.</p>

EXPRESS: A meta-analysis of the effects of episodic future thinking on delay discounting

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182110662
Author(s):  
Jun-yan Ye ◽  
Qing-yu Ding ◽  
Ji-fang Cui ◽  
Zhe Liu ◽  
Lu-xia Jia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Delay Discounting ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
Episodic Future Thinking ◽  
Future Thinking ◽  
Control Task ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Subjective Value ◽  
The Future

Delay discounting (DD) refers to the phenomenon in which the subjective value of future rewards is reduced over time. There are individual differences in the DD rate, and increased discounting has been observed in those with various psychiatric disorders. Episodic future thinking (EFT) is the act of vividly imagining events that may happen in the future. Studies have shown that EFT could reduce DD, although inconsistent results have been reported. The aim of this meta-analysis was to clarify the efficacy with which EFT reduces DD and to identify potential moderators. Forty-seven studies (including 63 contrasts) were included in the final analysis. EFT was found to significantly reduce DD (Hedges’ g =0.52). Moderator analysis showed that positive EFT (g=0.64) was more effective in reducing DD than EFT with the valence not specifically mentioned (g=0.28), and EFT with neutral or negative valence (g=-0.03). In addition, several factors related to the control task and DD task were related to the efficacy of EFT to reduce DD. These findings have implications for using EFT to reduce DD in the future.

scholarly journals Psychopathology and Episodic Future Thinking: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Specificity and Episodic Detail

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David John Hallford ◽  
David W. Austin ◽  
Keisuke Takano ◽  
Filip Raes
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Mental Simulation ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Episodic Future Thinking ◽  
Future Thinking ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Future Events

Episodic future thinking (EFT) refers to the mental simulation of possible future events; a crucial mental process in adaptation. Psychiatric disorders are associated with deficits in recalling episodic memory, however, no study has reviewed the empirical literature to assess for similar deficits in EFT. A systematic review comparing psychiatric groups with control groups on the specificity and episodic detail of EFT returned 19 eligible studies. An overall effect of g = -0.84 (95%CI = -1.06, - 0.62, p &lt; .001) indicated individuals with a psychiatric diagnosis have significantly less specific and detailed EFT. Publication bias was not detected, but heterogeneity was. No methodological characteristics were significant moderators. Subgroup analyses showed significant effects for depression (g = -0.79, p &lt; .001, k = 7), bipolar disorder (g = -1.00, p &lt; .001, k = 2), and schizophrenia (g = -1.06, p &lt; .001, k = 6), but not posttraumatic stress disorder (g = -1.04, p = .260, k = 2) or complicated grief (g = -0.41, p = .08, k = 2). Deficits in EFT are apparent in some psychiatric disorders. However, many clinical groups are understudied, and the causal mechanisms and remediation of these deficits require further research attention.

scholarly journals Promoting farsighted decisions via episodic future thinking: A meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Alica Rösch ◽  
Davide Francesco Stramaccia ◽  
Roland Georg Benoit
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Episodic Future Thinking ◽  
Future Thinking ◽  
Demand Characteristics ◽  
Delayed Choice ◽  
Core Components ◽  
Level Model ◽  
The Impact

Episodic future thinking (EFT) denotes our capacity to imagine prospective events. It has been suggested to promote farsighted decisions that entail a trade-off between short-term versus long-term gains. Here, we meta-analyze the evidence for the impact of EFT on such intertemporal choices that have monetary or health-relevant consequences. Across 174 effect sizes from 48 articles, a three-level model yielded a medium-sized effect of g = 0.44, 95% CI [0.33, 0.55]. Notably, this analysis included a substantial number of unpublished experiments, and the effect remained stable following further adjustments for remaining publication bias. We exploited the observed heterogeneity to determine critical core components that moderate the impact of EFT. Specifically, the effect was stronger when the imagined events were positive, more vivid, and related to the delayed choice. We further obtained evidence for the contribution of the episodicity and future-orientedness of EFT. Of note, EFT had a greater impact in samples characterized by choice impulsivity (e.g., in obesity), suggesting that EFT can ameliorate maladaptive decision making. Additional analyses indicated that the effect is unlikely to merely reflect demand characteristics. Together, these results highlight the potential of EFT in promoting long-term goals, a finding that extends from the laboratory to real-life decisions.

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