title: Imagining the future: A cross-cultural perspective on possible selves.
abstract: This study examined the impact of culture on the qualitative and quantitative features of possible selves. Young adults from Turkey (n=55), Serbia (n=64), and the United Kingdom (n=73) generated images of eight possible selves (e.g. I will be a doctor) which were dated and rated for vividness, positivity, imagery perspective, rehearsal, and according to whether or not they involved other people. All possible selves were coded according to categories (e.g. job, parenthood, self-improvement). There were cross-cultural differences in the types of possible selves generated and in the ratings for vividness, positivity, and rehearsal. Across all three cultures, specific possible selves were more frequently generated than abstract possible selves. Specific possible selves were rated as significantly more vivid and were dated as emerging later than abstract possible selves. Results are discussed with reference to cultural life scripts and the effects of culture on future cognitions.
authors.affiliation: Oxford Brookes University, Department of Psychology, Social Work and Public Health, Oxford, United Kingdom. Electronic address: crathbone@brookes.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Clare J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Rathbone
authors.affiliation: Aarhus University, Department of Psychology, Center on Autobiographical Memory Research, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Sinué
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salgado
authors.affiliation: Bogaziçi University, Department of Psychology, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Melisa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akan
authors.affiliation: University of Leeds, School of Psychology, Leeds, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jelena
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Havelka
authors.affiliation: Aarhus University, Department of Psychology, Center on Autobiographical Memory Research, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Dorthe
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Berntsen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012380:Role; D012649:Self Concept; D055771:Serbia; D014421:Turkey; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Future cognitions; Future self; Identity; Imagining; Life scripts; Possible self; Self-image