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identity
You believe your future self is a stranger.
Neuroimaging studies indicate that, for individuals with low future-self continuity, the brain processes the future self similarly to how it processes other people, with a notable reduction in mPFC activation compared to the present self.
The neural response is not identical to that of a 'complete stranger'; rather, it shows a degree of resemblance that varies based on an individual's psychological connectedness to their future self.
You treat your future self with the same distance you reserve for an acquaintance.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Hershfield et al., 2011, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
- What the check found
- The cited study (Ersner-Hershfield et al., 2009, in SCAN) actually showed a gradient of mPFC activity; describing it as the 'same' as a stranger ignores the scalar, individual-dependent nature of the effect.
- Confidence
- Solid, with limits
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.