Short-term mindsets: Beyond traits and self-regulation
Current Opinion in Psychology, vol. 66, pp. 102112
Abstract
The study of intertemporal choice has been a topic of perennial interest to psychologists, behavioral economists, and cognitive scientists alike. Yet, dominant approaches often conflate time perspective with self-regulation and struggle to explain within-person shifts toward short-term choices. We introduce the concept of ‘short-term mindsets’—which reflects the tendency to prioritize immediate (versus future) outcomes. While partly dispositional, short-term mindsets are also responsive to situational states (e.g., intoxication, arousal), acute events (e.g., threat), and broader environments (e.g., neighborhood violence). Crucially, it decouples time perspective from self-regulatory ability. We propose Short-Term Mindsets Theory as useful set of principles for understanding intertemporal choice and outline key directions for measurement and empirical validation. • Short-term mindsets are not merely fixed traits, but also dynamic states that can be activated by situational cues. • Unlike traditional self-regulation-based models, short-term mindsets decouple time perspective from self-regulation. • Short-term mindsets may follow a self-reinforcing cycle, where individuals select environments that further reinforce them.
Authors 4
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Leiden University · Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law
Affiliation as printed
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security, and Law, Freiburg, Germany; Institute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands. Electronic address: j.vangelder@csl.mpg.de
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Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law
Affiliation as printed
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security, and Law, Freiburg, Germany
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Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law
Affiliation as printed
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security, and Law, Freiburg, Germany
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Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law · University of Amsterdam
Affiliation as printed
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security, and Law, Freiburg, Germany; Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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