Back or to the future? Preferences of time travelers
Popular culture reflects whatever piques our imagination. Think of the myriad movies and books that take viewers and readers on an imaginary journey to the past or the future (e.g., Gladiator, The Time Machine). Despite the ubiquity of time travel as a theme in cultural expression, the factors that...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
2012-07-01
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| Series: | Judgment and Decision Making |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.sjdm.org/12/12312/jdm12312.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797717523496435712 |
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| author | Ralph Hertwig Florence Ettlin |
| author_facet | Ralph Hertwig Florence Ettlin |
| author_sort | Ralph Hertwig |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Popular culture reflects whatever piques our imagination. Think of the myriad movies and books that take viewers and readers on an imaginary journey to the past or the future (e.g., Gladiator, The Time Machine). Despite the ubiquity of time travel as a theme in cultural expression, the factors that underlie people's preferences concerning the direction of time travel have gone unexplored. What determines whether a person would prefer to visit the (certain) past or explore the (uncertain) future? We identified three factors that markedly affect people's preference for (hypothetical) travel to the past or the future, respectively. Those who think of themselves as courageous, those with a more conservative worldview, and---perhaps counterintuitively---those who are advanced in age prefer to travel into the future. We discuss implications of these initial results. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T08:37:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-48c02073a9b8496a8326025c42a7d293 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1930-2975 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T08:37:36Z |
| publishDate | 2012-07-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Judgment and Decision Making |
| spelling | doaj.art-48c02073a9b8496a8326025c42a7d2932023-09-02T17:06:18ZengCambridge University PressJudgment and Decision Making1930-29752012-07-0174373382Back or to the future? Preferences of time travelersRalph HertwigFlorence EttlinPopular culture reflects whatever piques our imagination. Think of the myriad movies and books that take viewers and readers on an imaginary journey to the past or the future (e.g., Gladiator, The Time Machine). Despite the ubiquity of time travel as a theme in cultural expression, the factors that underlie people's preferences concerning the direction of time travel have gone unexplored. What determines whether a person would prefer to visit the (certain) past or explore the (uncertain) future? We identified three factors that markedly affect people's preference for (hypothetical) travel to the past or the future, respectively. Those who think of themselves as courageous, those with a more conservative worldview, and---perhaps counterintuitively---those who are advanced in age prefer to travel into the future. We discuss implications of these initial results.http://journal.sjdm.org/12/12312/jdm12312.pdftime travel; preferences; age; individual differences; conservative Weltanschauung.NAKeywords |
| spellingShingle | Ralph Hertwig Florence Ettlin Back or to the future? Preferences of time travelers Judgment and Decision Making time travel; preferences; age; individual differences; conservative Weltanschauung.NAKeywords |
| title | Back or to the future? Preferences of time travelers |
| title_full | Back or to the future? Preferences of time travelers |
| title_fullStr | Back or to the future? Preferences of time travelers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Back or to the future? Preferences of time travelers |
| title_short | Back or to the future? Preferences of time travelers |
| title_sort | back or to the future preferences of time travelers |
| topic | time travel; preferences; age; individual differences; conservative Weltanschauung.NAKeywords |
| url | http://journal.sjdm.org/12/12312/jdm12312.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ralphhertwig backortothefuturepreferencesoftimetravelers AT florenceettlin backortothefuturepreferencesoftimetravelers |