Psychological Development and Education ›› 2016, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (1): 17-25.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2016.01.03

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The Relationship between Mental Time Travel and the Self:Transition from Late Childhood to Early Adulthood

LIU Yan1,2, LIU Jing1, WANG Minnan1   

  1. 1. School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China;
    2. Collaborative Innovation Center for Healthy Personality Assessment and Training of Children and Adolescents, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China
  • Online:2016-01-15 Published:2016-01-15

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Abstract: The present research explored the developmental patterns in mental time travel and the self during late childhood (9~12 years old), adolescence (13~15 years old), and early adulthood (17, 19, 21 years old). Of particular interest on how episodic memory and the self would affect episodic foresight at each possible transitional period. Using the interview method, this research evaluated mental time travel performance through episodic details recalls. Self-description (in elementary school and secondary school) or self-continuity (in high school and college) was also used to measure self-concept. The results showed that (a) The episodic details numbers in episodic future thinking and paralleling episodic memory increased with age during late childhood. Both episodic memory and foresight then remained stable during adolescence and early adulthood; (b) Episodic memory was an effective predictor of episodic foresight in each of the above stage; (c) The influence of self-description on episodic foresight did not appear until adolescence; (d) Self-continuity mediated the relationship between episodic memory and episodic foresight during early adulthood.

Key words: episodic memory, episodic foresight, self-description, self-continuity, development

CLC Number: 

  • B844

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