Positive fantasies about idealized futures sap energy
Heather Kappes and Gabriele Oettingen ran four experiments in which positive fantasies about a desired future were induced and not merely measured. Participants who imagined an idealised future showed lower energy, on physiological and behavioural indicators, than those who imagined questioning that future, negative scenarios or neutral ones. The drop was larger when the need the fantasy concerned was more pressing, and the authors conclude that positive fantasies undermine achievement partly because they fail to generate the energy needed to pursue the future.
Heather Kappes and Gabriele Oettingen ran four experiments in which positive fantasies about a desired future were induced and not merely measured. Participants who imagined an idealised future showed lower energy, on physiological and behavioural indicators, than those who imagined questioning that future, negative scenarios or neutral ones. The drop was larger when the need the fantasy concerned was more pressing, and the authors conclude that positive fantasies undermine achievement partly because they fail to generate the energy needed to pursue the future.
Written from the abstract read 2026-10-22 (LSE Research Online).
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Kappes, H. B., & Oettingen, G. (2011). Positive fantasies about idealized futures sap energy. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47(4), 719-729. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2011.02.003