Fit between future thinking and future orientation on creative imagination

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the impact of future thinking, and the fit between future thinking and future orientation on creative thinking. In Study 1, 83 undergraduates were randomly assigned to three groups: 50-year future thinking, 5-year future thinking, and the present-day thinking. First, the priming tasks, in which participants were asked to imagine their lives 50 years from now, 5 years from now and in the present day according to the condition respectively, were conducted. Subsequently, theirs’ performances of the Creative Imagery Task were examined. The results revealed that the 50-year future thinking group performed better than the 5-year future thinking and the present-day thinking groups in originality and beyond reality. The only difference observed between the 5-year future thinking and the present-day thinking groups was in practicality. In Study 2, after taking a future orientation subscale developed by Zimbardo and Boyd (1999), 77 undergraduates were randomly assigned to the three future thinking groups as those in Study 1. Their performances in the Creative Imagery Task were then examined. The results showed that the participants in the present-day thinking group with low future orientation and the participants in the 50-year future thinking group with high future orientation had better performance in creative imagination in originality and beyond reality. In conclusion, increasing the temporal distance of future thinking facilitates creative thinking. Additionally, one's creative imagination can be improved when thinking timescales and future orientation are aligned.

► We manipulate the timescale of the future thinking and measure participants’ future orientation.
► We examine the performance of creative thinking.
► Increasing the temporal distance of future thinking will promote performance in creative thinking.
► Creative imagination can be improved when thinking timescales and future orientation are aligned.