Work

Get real: Effects of repeated simulation and emotion on the perceived plausibility of future experiences.

Year: 2012

Type: article

Abstract: People frequently imagine specific interpersonal experiences that might occur in their futures. The present study used a novel experimental paradigm to examine the influence of repeated simulation of future interpersonal experiences on subjective assessments of plausibility for positive, negative, and neutral events. The results demonstrate that repeated simulation increases estimates of plausibility for emotional, but not neutral, future interpersonal experiences. Additional correlational analyses reveal that increases in plausibility for emotional events are associated with concurrent increases in ease of simulation, event detail, and arousal. Implications for daily life and affective disorders such as depression and anxiety are noted.

Source: Journal of Experimental Psychology General

DOI: 10.1037/a0028877

Authors: Karl K. Szpunar, Daniel L. Schacter

Institution: Harvard University

Language: English

Topic: Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute of Mental Health

Awards: G72002178, Event-related Neuroimaging of Human Memory Formation