The Cognitive And Neural Mechanism Of The Episodic Future Thinking Effects On Procrastination

Procrastination refers to voluntary but irrational delay of intended course of actions despite foresee the negative consequences for doing so(Steel,2007).Procrastination is a widespread problem behavior that can cause serious damage to people’s academic performance,work efficiency,subjective well-being,and physical and mental health(Balkis & Erdin(?),2017;F.M.Sirois,2007;F.M.Sirois & Tosti,2012).Therefore,systematically exploring the mechanism of procrastination behavior and conducting research on procrastination intervention have important theoretical and practical significance for the improvement of individual life and the development of society.The temporal decision model of procrastination suggests that procrastination is an asymmetric decision between the present and the future,and the struggle between the utility of the positive outcome and negative engagement determines whether to procrastinate(Shunmin Zhang & Feng,2020).It is worth noting that the individual’s assessment of the utility of the positive outcome and the utility of the negative engagement of the procrastinating task depends on the Episodic future thinking(EFT)(Berns et al.,2006).However,the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying how EFT affects procrastination behavior is still unclear.Based on the difference between imagination direction in task evaluation(task engagement VS.task outcome)and emotional valence(positive VS.negative),this research tries to establish 2(valence:positive VS.negative)×2(imagination direction: task engagement VS.task outcome)model of EFT(the 2×2 model of EFT)to systematically explore the cognitive and neural mechanism of EFT’s effects on procrastination.Specifically,Study 1 first proposed a 2×2 model of EFT from a theoretical perspective,and verified the applicability of the 2×2 model of EFT through a free construction method,and explored the cognitive mechanism of how EFT affects procrastination behavior.The study 2further explored the neural basis of how EFT influences procrastination with the help of Voxel-based morphometry(VBM)and Resting-state functional connectivity(RSFC)research methods.In Study 1,in order to explore the cognitive mechanism of EFT’s effects on procrastination behavior,this study first proposed the expected imagination 2(imagination direction: task engagement VS.task outcome)× 2(emotional valence:positive vs.negative)model to investigate How EFT affects procrastination behavior.Study 1 used the free construction method(Frankort et al.,2012)to obtain 92participants’ expected imaginations about their real procrastinated tasks,and coded these EFT thoughts according to the 2 × 2 model of EFT(including: Positive engagement,positive outcome,negative engagement,negative outcome)to obtain the scores of each dimension of the 2×2 model of EFT.At the same time,the scores of the subjects’ execution willingness are collected as indicators of procrastination behavior;then,use correlation analysis to explore the relationship between each dimension and procrastination behavior;finally,the coding score of each dimension of the 2×2 model of EFT is used as an independent variable,and execution willingness is used as a dependent variable.Regression analysis and mixed linear model is used to explore the impact of EFT on procrastination.The results suggest:(1)Correlation analysis shows that the EFT scores of "positive engagement" and "positive outcome" are significantly positively correlated with the execution willingness,while the EFT scores of "negative engagement" and "negative outcome" are negatively correlated with the execution willingness;(2)Further,step-wise regression analysis and mixed linear model show that after controlling for age,gender,expected EFT ability score and the total number of EFT thoughts,there are only "positive outcome" and "negative engagement" can predict execution willingness,and combine the expected positive outcome with expected negative engagement can best predict execution willingness.The 2×2 model of EFT indicates that the two dimensions can predict procrastination behavior,and the combination of the two can make the best prediction of procrastination behavior(execution willingness as an indicator).These explanations show that the 2×2 model of EFT can describe the types of EFT in procrastination behavior,and it mainly affects procrastination behavior through the two types of EFT of "positive outcome" and "negative engagement".Based on study 1,study 2 focuses on exploring the neural basis of the influence of two kinds of EFT of "positive outcome" and "negative engagement" on procrastination behavior.First,the VBM method is used to investigate the brain structure basis of the "positive outcome" and "negative engagement";then,the brain structure basis of the "positive outcome" and "negative process"(Relevant brain regions are used as seed points),the RSFC method is used to construct the resting state functional connectivity of the two types of EFT;finally,the "positive outcome" and "negative process" are explored through structural equation modeling.The results showed that:(1)The VBM analysis revealed that the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex(DLPFC)was positively correlated with expected positive outcome,while the right hippocampus was positively correlated with expected negative engagement;(2)the RSFC results indicated the bistable DLPFC functional connectivity with the right inferior frontal gyrus(RIFG)and left precuneus were positively associated with expected positive outcome,whereas the hippocampus connectivity with the left insula was positively associated with expected negative engagement.(3)the structural equation model analysis integrating RSFC results were well fit for the effect of EFT on procrastination through cognitive control pathway(DLPFC-IFG,DLPFC-precuneus)and emotional processing pathway(hippocampus-insula).Collectively,the present findings suggest that task procrastination can be predicted by the interaction of the top-down cognitive control pathway and bottom-up emotional processing pathway.In summary,this study found that:(1)The 2×2 model of EFT can comprehensively describe the types of EFT,and it mainly affects procrastination behavior through "positive outcome" and "negative engagement" dimensions.(2)The VBM analysis revealed that the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex(DLPFC)was positively correlated with expected positive outcome,while the right hippocampus was positively correlated with expected negative engagement.Moreover,the RSFC results indicated the bistable DLPFC functional connectivity with the right inferior frontal gyrus(RIFG)and left precuneus were positively associated with expected positive outcome,whereas the hippocampus connectivity with the left insula was positively associated with expected negative engagement.(3)From the perspective of integration,the structural equation model found that EFT exerts effects on procrastination mainly through the cognitive control pathway(DLPFC-IFG,DLPFC-Precuneus)and the emotional processing pathway(Hippocampus-Insula)two neural pathways interact together.To a certain extent,it reveals the neural basis of how EFT affects procrastination.In short,this study proposes a 2×2 model of EFT and reveals the cognitive mechanism of EFT to explain its effects on procrastination,and uses structure and resting state methods to explore the neural basis of EFT effects on procrastination behavior.This has a high theoretical value for understanding the cognitive and neural mechanism of how EFT affects procrastination behavior,and it also provides new perspectives and ideas for intervening procrastination behavior through EFT training.