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 Co-Chair
JoNell Strough
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. 12889.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/12889