Table 1 Description and Features of the Three Intervention Modules
Module | Theory | Core features Smartphone app | Core features VR sessions |
|---|---|---|---|
Future self Stimulating vividness, familiarity and identification with the future self | • Exposure to and vividness of the future self increases future orientation [46] Additionally in smartphone intervention: • Incremental personality theory: The belief that personality can change over time can reduce problematic behaviors [47] • People’s willingness to change on personality traits in socially desirable ways increases after feedback on their current trait levels [48] | • Completion of personal profile of the future self (e.g., work experience, skills, accomplishments) • Current scores on personality traits with an indication of norm scores • Brief animated clip with psychoeducation that personality can change over time • Set desired scores of personality traits of future self • Future self-interaction portal to connect and interact with the future self. The future self asks participants to think about their future self in daily life and provides guided episodic future thinking exercises | • Time travel portal assists mental time traveling in order to ‘pre live’ events • Embodiment of avatar representing future self, bolstering vividness of and identification with the future self • Interview future self about personal profile (e.g., work experience, skills, accomplishments) • A visual grid containing participant’s answers and showing a personal profile of the future self |
Future self perspective Cultivate future-oriented choices and increase self-insight by distanced perspective taking aiming to stimulate attitudes and behaviors favoring the future self | • People make more future-oriented choices: 1)for others (i.e., Solomon’s paradox [49]) 2) when they have a vivid image of the future self [46] 3) when they can psychologically or temporally distance themselves from the situation (i.e., Construal level theory [28]) • Wise reasoning is enhanced with third-person self-reflection [50] | • Brief animated clip with psychoeducation explaining that people make more future-oriented choices when they can mentally distance themselves from a situation, and when they consider the long-term consequences • Time portal: tool that allows for taking the perspective of the future self to provide advice • Future self-interaction portal: The future self emphasizes that personality can change over time and stimulates decision making with the future self in mind | • Time travel portal and embodiment of future self • Psychoeducation explaining that people make more future-oriented choices when they can mentally distance themselves from a situation, and when they consider the long-term consequences • Ask future self advice on challenges present self experiences.  • Switching perspectives is used to mimic a conversation and allows for giving advice • A visual grid containing participant’s answers showing the posed challenges and the future self’s advice |
Goal setting and achievement Bolster goal setting and achievement by teaching a growth mindset and Mental Contrasting and Implementation Intentions | • Growth mindset: The belief that people’s abilities can develop over time. This mindset aids engagement in thoughts and behaviors to work towards goals [51] • Mental Contrasting and Implementation Intentions [52]: Method in which the desired future is contrasted with the current reality. Obstacles standing in the way of attaining the desired future are identified. Subsequently, a plan is formulated to implement behaviors to overcome the obstacles | • Brief animated clip with psychoeducation that abilities can develop over time • Brief animated clip explaining Mental Contrasting and Implementation Intentions • Practice with Mental Contrasting and Implementation Intentions to work towards goals via filling in a scheme • Writing a letter to the future self with goals • Future self-interaction portal: The future self stimulates taking perspective of the future self (in decision making and in goal achievement) and provides a guided episodic future thinking exercise | • Time travel portal and embodiment of future self • Verbal psychoeducation that abilities can develop over time (i.e., growth mindset) • Practice Mental Contrasting and Implementation Intentions via interviewing the future self, in particular for identification of potential obstacles and formulating plans to overcome these obstacles • A visual grid containing participant’s answers providing a overview of goal, obstacles and plans to overcome the obstacles |