Consideration of Future Consequences Scale

What it measures

The most widely used measure of temporal self-regulation in consumer, health, and environmental psychology. Validated in three student samples (n=141–242) with alpha 0.80–0.86; convergent correlations with delay of gratification, preference for long-term rewards, and environmental concern. Discriminant from social desirability, intelligence, and need for cognition. High-CFC individuals show greater compliance with health warnings, larger willingness to pay for environmentally friendly products, greater savings behaviour, and stronger responses to future-framed health and environmental communications. Low-CFC individuals prefer immediate over delayed rewards, discount future consequences more steeply, and are less responsive to long-term consequence framing. Meta-analyses report robust CFC–health behaviour associations (rapprox.0.25–0.35) and CFC–environmental behaviour associations (rapprox.0.20–0.30). Joireman, Strathman & Balliet (2006) recommend treating immediate and future subscales as two correlated factors rather than a single bipolar dimension. Used extensively as a moderator in persuasion research examining temporal framing effects.

Representative items

• I consider how things might be in the future, and try to influence those things with my everyday behavior.
• Often I engage in a particular behavior in order to achieve outcomes that may not result for many years.
• I only act to satisfy immediate concerns, figuring the future will take care of itself. (R)
• My behavior is only influenced by the immediate outcomes of my actions. (R)
• I am willing to sacrifice my immediate happiness or well-being in order to achieve future outcomes.

Citation

Strathman, A., Gleicher, F., Boninger, D.S., & Edwards, C.S. (1994). The consideration of future consequences: Weighing immediate and distant outcomes of behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66(4), 742–752.