Foresight (psychology)

Foresight is the ability to predict, or the action of predicting, what will happen or what is needed in the future. Studies suggest that much of human thought is directed towards potential future events. Because of this, the nature and evolution of foresight is an important topic in psychology.^[1] Thinking about the future is studied under the label prospection.^[2]

Neuroscientific, developmental, and cognitive studies have identified many similarities to the human ability to recall past episodes.^[3] Science magazine selected evidence for such similarities as one of the top ten scientific breakthroughs of 2007.^[4] However, fundamental differences separate mentally travelling through time into the future (i.e., foresight) versus mentally travelling through time into the past (i.e., episodic memory).^[5]

^ Suddendorf T, Corballis M (2007). "The evolution of foresight: What is mental time travel and is it uniquely human?". Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 30 (3): 299–313. doi:10.1017/S0140525X07001975. PMID 17963565.
^ Suddendorf T, Bulley A, Miloyan B (December 2018). "Prospection and natural selection". Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. 24: 26–31. doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.01.019. S2CID 53180176.
^
- Addis DR, Wong AT, Schacter DL (2007). "Remembering the Past and Imagining the Future: Common and Distinct Neural Substrates During Event Construction and Elaboration". Neuropsychologia. 45 (7): 1363–1377. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.10.016. PMC 1894691. PMID 17126370.
- Hassabis D, Kumaran D, Vann SD, Maguire EA (2007). "Patients with Hippocampal Amnesia Cannot Imagine New Experiences". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 104 (5): 1726–1731. Bibcode:2007PNAS..104.1726H. doi:10.1073/pnas.0610561104. PMC 1773058. PMID 17229836.
^ News Staff, T. (21 December 2007). "Breakthrough of the Year: The Runners-Up". Science. 318 (5848): 1844–1849. doi:10.1126/science.318.5858.1844a. PMID 18096772.
^ Suddendorf T (2010). "Episodic Memory Versus Episodic Foresight: Similarities and Differences". Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science. 1: 99–107. doi:10.1002/wcs.23.

[1] Suddendorf T, Corballis M (2007). "The evolution of foresight: What is mental time travel and is it uniquely human?". Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 30 (3): 299–313. doi:10.1017/S0140525X07001975. PMID 17963565.

[2] Suddendorf T, Bulley A, Miloyan B (December 2018). "Prospection and natural selection". Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. 24: 26–31. doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.01.019. S2CID 53180176.

[3] 
Addis DR, Wong AT, Schacter DL (2007). "Remembering the Past and Imagining the Future: Common and Distinct Neural Substrates During Event Construction and Elaboration". Neuropsychologia. 45 (7): 1363–1377. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.10.016. PMC 1894691. PMID 17126370.
Hassabis D, Kumaran D, Vann SD, Maguire EA (2007). "Patients with Hippocampal Amnesia Cannot Imagine New Experiences". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 104 (5): 1726–1731. Bibcode:2007PNAS..104.1726H. doi:10.1073/pnas.0610561104. PMC 1773058. PMID 17229836.

[4] Addis DR, Wong AT, Schacter DL (2007). "Remembering the Past and Imagining the Future: Common and Distinct Neural Substrates During Event Construction and Elaboration". Neuropsychologia. 45 (7): 1363–1377. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.10.016. PMC 1894691. PMID 17126370.

[5] Hassabis D, Kumaran D, Vann SD, Maguire EA (2007). "Patients with Hippocampal Amnesia Cannot Imagine New Experiences". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 104 (5): 1726–1731. Bibcode:2007PNAS..104.1726H. doi:10.1073/pnas.0610561104. PMC 1773058. PMID 17229836.

[4] News Staff, T. (21 December 2007). "Breakthrough of the Year: The Runners-Up". Science. 318 (5848): 1844–1849. doi:10.1126/science.318.5858.1844a. PMID 18096772.

[5] Suddendorf T (2010). "Episodic Memory Versus Episodic Foresight: Similarities and Differences". Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science. 1: 99–107. doi:10.1002/wcs.23.

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