Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Apr;45(2):148-168.
doi: 10.1093/hcr/hqy017. Epub 2018 Nov 23.

How Thinking about the Future Affects Our Decisions in the Present: Effects of Time Orientation and Episodic Future Thinking on Responses to Health Warning Messages

Xiaoli Nan  1 , Yan Qin  1
Affiliations

How Thinking about the Future Affects Our Decisions in the Present: Effects of Time Orientation and Episodic Future Thinking on Responses to Health Warning Messages

Xiaoli Nan et al. Hum Commun Res. 2019 Apr.

Abstract

Past research has consistently shown that people have the tendency to discount future outcomes. However, most health messages emphasize the long-term consequences of behaviors. Building upon past research on temporal discounting, time orientation, and construal level, the current research examines how dispositional time orientation (present and future) predicts health behavior intentions and the impact of situationally-activated future orientation through episodic future thinking on the persuasiveness of long-term health warnings. An online experiment was conducted with 946 African American smokers randomly assigned to engage in either future thinking or present thinking prior to viewing a series of graphic cigarette warning labels. Results suggested that a stronger present time orientation predicts greater intentions to smoke, while a stronger future time orientation predicts greater intentions to quit smoking. Additionally, future (vs. present) thinking significantly increased intentions to quit smoking through enhanced perceived self-efficacy for quitting smoking. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Keywords: Cigarette Warning Labels; Construal Level; Episodic Future Thinking; Smoking; Temporal Discounting; Time Orientation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The indirect effect of future (vs. present) thinking on intentions to quit smoking through perceived self-efficacy. *p < .05; **p < .01.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aaker J. L., & Lee A. Y. (2001). “I” seek pleasures and “we” avoid pains: The role of self-regulatory goals in information processing and persuasion. Journal of Consumer Research ,28, 33–49. 10.1086/321946 - DOI
    1. Adams J. (2009). The role of time perspective in smoking cessation amongst older English adults. Health Psychology ,28, 529–534. 10.1037/a0015198 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Adams J., & Nettle D. (2009). Time perspective, personality and smoking, body mass, and physical activity: An empirical study. British Journal of Health Psychology ,14, 83–105. 10.1348/135910708x299664 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Apostolidis T., Fieulaine N., Simonin L., & Rolland G. (2006). Cannabis use, time perspective and risk perception: Evidence of a moderating effect. Psychology and Health ,21, 571–592. 10.1080/14768320500422683 - DOI
    1. Arnocky S., Milfont T. L., & Nicol J. R. (2014). Time perspective and sustainable behavior: Evidence for the distinction between consideration of immediate and future consequences. Environment and Behavior ,46, 556–582. 10.1177/0013916512474987 - DOI

LinkOut - more resources