Constructing a Performance Measure of Future Time Orientation

Three studies present the development of the Scrambled Sentences Task for Future Time Orientation (SST-FTO), a performance measure of future time orientation. In Study 1, undergraduate research assistants rated a pool of 30 experimental items as delineating between future and present time orientations demonstrating the content validity of SST-FTO items. Study 2 established the convergent validity of the SST-FTO administered online showing performance related to a self-report measure of time orientation and a performance measure of delay discounting but not to a measure of temporal focus. Study 3 further established the validity of a shortened SST-FTO administered online following an episodic future thinking intervention known to affect delay discounting. The intervention influenced delay discounting but not SST-FTO performance. SST-FTO measures correlated with pre-intervention self-reported future orientation and predicted delay discounting even after accounting for intervention effects and self-reported future orientation. Internal consistency of the measure was demonstrated in all three studies through item-total correlations and Cronbach’s alphas. Results suggested the SST-FTO is a robust performance measure of future time orientation, predictive of decision-making on performance measures of delay discounting.