Author ORCID Identifier
Semester
Spring
Date of Graduation
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Psychology
Committee Chair
Ryan Best
Committee Member
JoNell Strough
Committee Member
Karen G Anderson
Abstract
Future self-continuity, the psychological feeling of connectedness between the current and the future self, is a relatively novel concept that is associated with and has been used to predict a variety of outcomes. Though work investigating individual differences is comparatively rare, a robust demographic difference found in previous literature is the presence of an age effect, where older adults are more likely to feel a greater connection to their future self than younger adults. This finding has been replicated a number of times, but potential mechanisms behind this observed age-related increase have yet to be fully uncovered. Limited previous work has shown initial evidence that life satisfaction may play a mediating role between age and future self-continuity. Additionally, we hypothesize that the shifting of goal orientations across the lifespan may account for the observed age effect seen in future self-continuity. Using a series of hierarchical regression models, age emerged as a significant predictor of future self-continuity after controlling for covariates and other study variables. A series of parallel mediation models revealed significant indirect effects for both gain-oriented goal-orientation and life satisfaction. These results demonstrate that in young adulthood, the increased likelihood of having goals directed towards gains and growth may lead to decreased future self-continuity. Additionally, being highly satisfied with life may lead to increases in future self-continuity. These findings advance the understanding of the trajectory of future self-continuity across adulthood and offer future directions for the continued study of these relations across multiple measures of future self-continuity.
Recommended Citation
Mooney, Laken A., "Back to the Future Self: Parsing Age Effects in Future Self-Continuity through Goal Orientation and Life Satisfaction" (2025). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD). 12889.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/12889