The Effect of Episodic Future Thinking on Behavioral Intention to Quit Smoking

Chen Haide; Zheng Liyu; Bian Hankun; Gao Lingfeng

doi:10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20250121

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Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2025, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (1) : 220-230. DOI: 10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20250121

Social，Personality & Organizational Psychology

The Effect of Episodic Future Thinking on Behavioral Intention to Quit Smoking

Chen Haide, Zheng Liyu, Bian Hankun, Gao Lingfeng

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Abstract

Tobacco use remains the largest preventable cause of disease and death. The current recommended method of tobacco control is to promote smoking cessation among smokers. Episodic future thinking (EFT), which refers to a projection of the self into the future to pre-experience an event, has been considered a promising approach to promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors. Prior studies have indicated that smokers exhibited lower cravings and less smoking behavior after receiving EFT training. According to the Transtheoretical Model, smoking cessation involves progressing through a series of stages that include increasing willingness to quit and developing a plan of quitting. However, little research has examined the effects of EFT on changes in willingness to quit and the formulation of action plans for quitting smoking among smokers. Additionally, both the Construal Level Theory and Self-Continuity Model suggest that EFT could effectively change the mindset about future thoughts. According to these theories, EFT might have general functions for human behavior change. In fact, EFT can be classified as universal EFT and context-specific EFT according to goal correlation, and it can be also classified as process simulation EFT and outcome simulation EFT according to the form of mindset. However, the different effects of various types of EFT on behavioral intention to quit smoking among smokers remain unknown. Therefore, the present study conducted two experiments to explore the effects of different types of EFT on smoking cessation intentions and smoking action plans.
Experiment 1 aimed to examine the differential influences of universal EFT and context-specific EFT on behavioral intention to quit smoking. 68 male smokers were recruited and randomly assigned to either the quit-goal-related EFT group or the quit-goal-unrelated EFT group. During the experiment, participants completed three rounds of imagery tasks, envisioning scenarios one month, one year, and ten years into the future. Participants in the quit-goal-related EFT group were instructed to imagine positive events following an attempt to quit smoking, while those in the quit-goal-unrelated EFT group imagined positive events unrelated to cigarettes. The results showed that the smokers in the quit-goal-related EFT group exhibited a greater increase in willingness to quit smoking after the EFT manipulation compared with quit-goal-unrelated EFT, and there were no significant differences in smoking action plans between the two groups.
Experiment 2 aimed to examine the differential influences of process simulation EFT and outcome simulation EFT on behavioral intention to quit smoking. 66 male smokers were recruited and randomly assigned to either the process simulation EFT group or the outcome simulation EFT group. The manipulation of the EFT types in Experiment 2 was similar to Experiment 1, except that the process simulation group also engaged in visualizing the strategies employed to achieve successful outcomes in smoking cessation. The results showed that the smokers in the process simulation EFT group exhibited a greater increase in willingness to quit smoking and intention to implement an action plan to quit smoking after EFT manipulation compared with the outcome simulation EFT group.
In conclusion, the present study indicated that smokers who engaged in the EFT manipulation by imagining the process of achieving smoking cessation-related goals would increase their willingness and plans to quit smoking compared to those who imagined the outcomes of goal achievement. In other words, the function of EFT is enhanced when specific situations are designed for certain behaviors. These findings suggest that the influence of different types of EFT should be considered when using the theories of Construal Level Theory and the Self-Continuity Model to explain the role of EFT in smoking cessation behavior. Additionally, participants’ goal pursuit for specific behaviors and the form of simulation should also be considered when designing EFT training programs.

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smokers / episodic future thinking / goal-related / process simulation / behavioral intention to quit smoking

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Chen Haide, Zheng Liyu, Bian Hankun, Gao Lingfeng. The Effect of Episodic Future Thinking on Behavioral Intention to Quit Smoking[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2025, 48(1): 220-230 https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20250121

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