Individual Differences in the Planning Fallacy: The Role of Temporal Perspective and Mood in Prospective Time Judgments
Date
2009
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Haverford College. Department of Psychology
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Award
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eng
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Haverford users only
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Abstract
The present study examined the role of temporal perspective and mood in the planning fallacy. While past research has shown that people with a future orientation tend to underestimate the length of future tasks, little empirical work has been done to show a causal link from either temporal perspective or mood to predicted duration. Ninety-six Haverford and Bryn Mawr students were given a writing task that primed for both mood (positive or negative) and temporal perspective (past, present or future). Following this task, they were asked to predict how long it would take them to complete a jigsaw puzzle, and were then timed while they actually completed it. Results showed that on average, participants underestimated by 38% relative to their actual times. However, the mood and temporal perspective primes did not produce significant inter-group differences. Results are discussed in terms of their theoretical importance and their implications for future research.