Measuring spontaneous episodic future thinking in children: Challenges and opportunities

• Published in: Learning & behavior Vol. 53; no. 1; pp. 80 - 91
• Main Authors: Pham, Que Anh, Ayson, Gladys, Atance, Cristina M., Blankenship, Tashauna L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.03.2025; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal cognition; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Child; Children; Children & youth; Humans; Hypotheses; Imagination; Memory, Episodic; Neurosciences; Psychology; Thinking; Spoon task; Episodic future thinking; Cognitive development; Spontaneous behavior

The “Spoon task” is a common measure of episodic future thinking (i.e., ability to imagine hypothetical future events) in children. However, by providing items and prompting children to choose one, this task might not require deliberate and goal-driven episodic future thinking. In contrast, “spontan...