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Cited by 504Behavioral Health and InterventionsPsychological and Temporal Perspectives ResearchMind wandering and attention

Future thought and behaviour change

Oettingen, Gabriele·2012·European Review of Social Psychology
DOI 10.1080/10463283.2011.643698
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Abstract

While there is a growing body of research on free thoughts such as fantasies and daydreams, the question of whether and how fantasies lead to effortful action and successful performance has hardly been investigated. The present article will show that, counter to what the popular self-help literature proposes, positive thinking can be detrimental to effort and success if it comes in the form of fantasies (free thoughts and images about the desired future) rather than beliefs (expectations). The article will then discuss fantasy realisation theory (FRT), which specifies how fantasies can be used to wisely self-regulate goal pursuit. The theory argues that the strategy of mental contrasting future and reality will produce both active goal pursuit and active goal disengagement, depending on a person's high versus low expectations of success, respectively. Research supporting these ideas across life domains points to non-conscious cognitive and motivational processes responsible for the effects of mental contrasting, and it depicts context variables (e.g., sad mood) that influence the rise and usage of mental contrasting. Intervention studies attest to mental contrasting as a content-free, time- and cost-effective metacognitive strategy that people can use to regulate their own goal pursuits in an autonomous way, thus helping people to become masters of their everyday life and long-term development.

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Crossref · 10.1080/10463283.2011.643698

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  • Mental contrasting activates expectations of success: high expectations lead to commitment and pursuit; low expectations lead to postponing or abandoning wishes.

    “Mentally contrasting a desired future with impeding reality can activate expectations of success: when expectations of success are high, people fully commit and pursue their goals; when expectations of success are low, people postpone or abandon the fulfillment of their wishes (Oettingen, 2000, 2012).”

    From A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Mental Contrasting With Implementation Intentions on Goal Attainment (2021) · cites this paper as Oettingen, 2012

  • When expectations of success are high, people firmly commit to pursuing the desired outcome; when low, they postpone or abandon achievement.

    “When expectations of success are high, people will firmly commit to pursuing the desired outcome; when expectations of success are low, people will postpone or abandon the achievement of their goals (Oettingen, 2012).”

    From A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Mental Contrasting With Implementation Intentions on Goal Attainment (2021) · cites this paper as Oettingen, 2012

  • Mental contrasting and implementation intention complement each other.

    “Although we found that effect size of MCII interventions was similar to interventions employing either mental contrasting or implementation intentions, we recommend using MCII as mental contrasting and implementation intention complement each other (Kappes et al., 2012b, 2013; Oettingen, 2012).”

    From A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Mental Contrasting With Implementation Intentions on Goal Attainment (2021) · cites this paper as Oettingen, 2012

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Authors
Oettingen, G.
Affiliations
Universität Hamburg (DE)
Corresponding author
Oettingen, Gabriele
ORCID
Oettingen, Gabriele
Venue
European Review of Social Psychology
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2012-03
Volume
23
Issue
1
Pages
1-63
ISSN
  • 1046-3283 (ISSN-L)
  • 1479-277X
DOI
10.1080/10463283.2011.643698
OpenAlex
W2023131476
Cited by
504
References
32
Citations by year
2026: 35 · 2025: 44 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 34 · 2020: 88 · 2019: 41 · 2018: 40 · 2017: 32 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 30 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 7
FWCI
29.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
European Review of Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Psychological and Temporal Perspectives Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Mind wandering and attention
Keywords
fantasy, daydreaming, mental contrasting, goal pursuit, self-regulation, goal disengagement, expectancy of success, positive thinking, metacognitive strategies, mood, autonomous motivation, behavior change

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