How much money do you put away each month toward retirement? Maybe
you sock away all you can, already dreaming of that Florida condo. Or
maybe you can’t even imagine where you’ll be then, what you’ll want to
use the money for, even what you’ll be like: when you think about
yourself far in the future, it’s almost like thinking about someone
else. A growing body of work suggests that the more you feel your future
self is really you, the more you’ll put in his or her—whoops, your—bank
account.
When making decisions, we often treat our future self the way we would treat another person, found a study in 2008 by Princeton psychologist Emily Pronin. People in the study often shied away from doing something helpful but unpleasant when they had to do it right at that moment. But when their help was needed a few months or a year down the line, they were more likely to sign up—just as likely as they were to suggest that someone else should help out.
To read the full, original article click on this link: When I'm 64: Identification with 'Future Self' Helps with Successful Financial Habits: Scientific American
Author: Valerie Ross
