Contrary to the opinion of most psychologists of the last century, we think about the future three times more often than the past. Therefore, the most suitable name for our species would be Homo Prospectus, is sure the professor of psychology of Pennsylvania University Martin Seligman.
We were called incorrectly. We call ourselves Homo sapiens, “a reasonable man”, but this is more branding than a description. What makes us reasonable? What distinguishes from other animals? Language, tools, ability to cooperate, culture? None of this is not inherent exclusively to a person.
What really distinguishes our appearance is the ability to think about the future. Our unique gift to anticipate created civilization and supports society. But in it is the main reason for our depression and anxiety.
The most suitable name for our species would be Homo Prospectus. The ability to analyze the future is what makes us reasonable. This discovery of psychologists and neurobiologists can be considered sensational, because over the past century, most researchers believed that we were prisoners of the past and present.
Resurrection in the memory of the past and its study fades into the background. It turns out that we study without maintaining “frozen” data, but continuously modifying the contents of the memory and modeling potential opportunities.
Our emotions are not a reaction to the present, but a guide to future actions. Today, doctors are exploring new methods of treating depression, because the cause of the disease may not be associated with past injuries and current stress, but with a distorted vision of the future.
The results of recent studies of conscious and unconscious mental processes indicate how important it is for us to imagine. For example, during an experiment in Chicago, scientists have continuously recorded the thoughts and emotions of 500 participants throughout the day. According to the postulates of classical psychology, most of the time these people should have spent on thinking about the past. In fact, they three times more often thought about the future. Moreover: even thoughts related to the events of the past included consideration of possible consequences in the future.
The participants in the experiment said that they felt happier when they made plans. Perhaps this is due to the fact that planning structures the chaos of thoughts. Sometimes the participants experienced fears that something would go wrong, but there were twice as many thoughts about a favorable outcome.
Although most people are prone to https://lucidkustoms.com/reveler-une-fille-solitaire/ optimism, those who suffer from depression see the future in gloomy colors. Most likely, the main reason for their problems is precisely in this, and not in past injuries or perception of the present. Patients with depression differ from mentally healthy people a tendency to damage positive outcomes and exaggerate the risks.