Academic AbstractHumans frequently engage in mental time travel, reflecting on the past and anticipating the future. Although these processes may seem similar, research documents systematic differences between retrospection and prospection. We propose a conceptual framework to organize and explain these differences based on three axiomatic temporal asymmetries: The past occurs before the future; the past is more certain than the future; and the past is less controllable than the future. People’s experience with these axiomatic differences is internalized and overgeneralized to shape mental representations of the past and future. Our review shows that people generally prioritize prospection over retrospection, attending more to the future than the past and reacting more intensely to future events than to past events. We consider potential moderators of and constraints on the generality of prioritizing prospection. We explore the implications of these temporal asymmetries, emphasizing their theoretical and practical significance.Public AbstractWhile daily life centers on the present, people often reflect on the past and anticipate the future. But which direction of mental time travel—backward or forward—has more influence? We identify three key differences that shape how people engage with the past and future: time flows from past to future, the future is more uncertain, and people have more control over the future. These differences affect the frequency, intensity, and nature of thoughts and feelings, leading to predictable biases in how we mentally represent and emotionally engage with events over time. Because focusing on the future often provides greater benefits, people tend to prioritize prospection over retrospection in everyday life.

中文翻译：

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潜在客户的优先顺序


学术摘要人类经常进行心理时间旅行，反思过去并预测未来。尽管这些过程看起来很相似，但研究记录了回顾和展望之间的系统性差异。我们提出了一个概念框架，根据三个公理的时间不对称来组织和解释这些差异：过去发生于未来;过去比未来更确定;过去比未来更难控制。人们对这些公理差异的经验被内化和过度概括，以塑造过去和未来的心理表征。我们的综述表明，人们通常优先考虑潜在客户而不是回顾，更多地关注未来而不是过去，并且对未来事件的反应比对过去的事件更强烈。我们考虑了优先考虑潜在客户的一般性的潜在调节因素和限制因素。我们探讨了这些时间不对称的含义，强调了它们的理论和实践意义。公共摘要虽然日常生活以现在为中心，但人们经常反思过去并预测未来。但是，心理时间旅行的哪个方向——向后或向前——影响更大呢？我们确定了影响人们如何看待过去和未来的三个关键差异：时间从过去流向未来，未来更加不确定，以及人们对未来有更多的控制权。这些差异会影响思想和感受的频率、强度和性质，导致随着时间的推移，我们在心理上表现和情感上参与事件的方式会出现可预测的偏差。因为关注未来通常会带来更大的好处，所以人们在日常生活中倾向于优先考虑潜在客户而不是回顾。