Constructing a Performance Measure of Future Time Orientation

J Pers Assess. 2021 Mar-Apr;103(2):278-288. doi: 10.1080/00223891.2019.1705843. Epub 2020 Jan 9.

Abstract

Three studies present the development of the Scrambled Sentences Task for Future Time Orientation (SST-FTO), a performance measure of future time orientation. In Study 1, undergraduate research assistants rated a pool of 30 experimental items as delineating between future and present time orientations demonstrating the content validity of SST-FTO items. Study 2 established the convergent validity of the SST-FTO administered online showing performance related to a self-report measure of time orientation and a performance measure of delay discounting but not to a measure of temporal focus. Study 3 further established the validity of a shortened SST-FTO administered online following an episodic future thinking intervention known to affect delay discounting. The intervention influenced delay discounting but not SST-FTO performance. SST-FTO measures correlated with pre-intervention self-reported future orientation and predicted delay discounting even after accounting for intervention effects and self-reported future orientation. Internal consistency of the measure was demonstrated in all three studies through item-total correlations and Cronbach's alphas. Results suggested the SST-FTO is a robust performance measure of future time orientation, predictive of decision-making on performance measures of delay discounting.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Delay Discounting*
  • Female
  • Forecasting
  • Humans
  • Impulsive Behavior
  • Male
  • Personality*
  • Reward*
  • Thinking / physiology
  • Time Factors