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# Episodic future thinking in 3 to 5 year old children: The ability to think of what will be needed from a different point of view

## Details

**Authors** Russel et al.

**Year** 2009

**Publisher** Cognition

**Discipline** Human Development

[Read it at the publisher](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2009.08.013) 
10.1016/j.cognition.2009.08.013

## In authors' words

### What they set out to do (purpose)

To examine “episodic future thinking” children ages 3 to 5 yeras old.

### What they found (results)

Their results showed that processes such as future thinking begins at approximately four years of age. This is due to an ability to perform Point of View thoughts. In the third experiment, the main finding was that, “this experiment demonstrates clearly that children of 4 years of age find a future-self question more challenging than a future-other question.” The main finding for the fourth experiment was that “self-directed questions are not generally more difficult than other-directed questions, as there was no difference in difficulty when they were asked in the present tense.”

## Commentary

### In short

In other words, in “perspective-taking tasks children of 4 will imagine how something looks from a point of a view they do not share.” These findings show the developmental path and inherent nature of Perspective as a cognitive skill.

### In more detail

Research indicates that perspective taking is likely a fundamental process of human cognition. As such, many scholars began to study more specific aspects of perspective taking as developmental skill. Russell et. al. 2010 examined “episodic future thinking” children ages 3 to 5 years old. He conducted four experiments to explore children’s ability to “think of what will be needed from a different point of view.” The first experiment tested if children could pass a “blow-football” by playing a game in which the child uses a straw to blow a ball into a goal across from them. They performed this task both in a present self condition and also the past other condition (i.e. someone performing the task in the past). All of the

16 “Decoherence is the process by which information of a quantum system is altered by the system's interaction with its environment (which form a closed system), hence creating an entanglement between the system and heat bath (environment)(cite wikipedia definition)”

children were able to do the task in both conditions successfully, confirming the original hypothesis. The second experiment was similar to experiment one, but the conditions the children were put through were the “future-self” and “future-other” conditions. Their results showed that processes such as future thinking begins at approximately four years of age. This is due to an ability to perform Point of View thoughts. Findings from experiments 1 and 2 justified the examination of a spatial and conceptual approach to episodic cognition in the third and fourth experiments for four year old children only. In the third experiment, the main finding was that, “this experiment demonstrates clearly that children of 4 years of age find a future-self question more challenging than a future-other question.” The main finding for the fourth experiment was that “self-directed questions are not generally more difficult than other-directed questions, as there was no difference in difficulty when they were asked in the present tense.” Interestingly, 4 year olds struggled more with future conditions of themselves, than they did but for others. The general discussion alludes to a pivotal point in child development at age 4 in which children’s abilities to engage in future thinking and the self versus other distinction. In other words, in “perspective-taking tasks children of 4 will imagine how something looks from a point of a view they do not share.” These findings show the developmental path and inherent nature of Perspective as a cognitive skill.

**Patterns it shows** P

**How to cite this** Russel et al. (2009). Episodic future thinking in 3 to 5 year old children: The ability to think of what will be needed from a different point of view. Cognition.