Abstract

Why do people often seem impatience about the far future rewards? Why do people often choose a smaller but immediate reward over a larger one in the future? Literature on intertemporal choices explains that future self-continuity can influence their degree of impatience. Future self-continuity is the sense of connectedness between the current and future selves. According to the research on self-continuity, the present self tends to regard the future self as a stranger. Therefore, it may be difficult for the current self to endure the rewards for the future self. However, this shortsightedness could decrease if people feel connected to their future selves. This paper investigated the relationship between future self-continuity and intertemporal choice and the components of future self-continuity that affect intertemporal choice. Finally, the paper explored psychological and social variables influencing the perception of future self-continuity. Throughout this, we discuss possible implications related to future research.