title: Episodic future thinking.
abstract: Thinking about the future is an integral component of human cognition - one that has been claimed to distinguish us from other species. Building on the construct of episodic memory, we introduce the concept of 'episodic future thinking': a projection of the self into the future to pre-experience an event. We argue that episodic future thinking has explanatory value when considering recent work in many areas of psychology: cognitive, social and personality, developmental, clinical and neuropsychology. Episodic future thinking can serve as a unifying concept, connecting aspects of diverse research findings and identifying key questions requiring further reflection and study.
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, Center for Mind, Brain and Learning, 458 Fisheries Center, Box 357988; 98195,., Seattle, WA, USA
authors.forename: Cristina M.
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Atance
authors.forename: Daniela K.
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: O'Neill