Why some people mentally travel into the future more often than others

In order to predict the potential consequences of actions, it helps to envision yourself in the future and imagine the coming scenario. Some people do this more often than others. Professor Ekrem Dere of Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, and Sorbonne Université in Paris has developed a theory for why. He believes that mental time travel activates the reward system in the brain, thereby reinforcing one's behavior. Dere describes his approach in the journal Psychological Review, published online on April 6, 2026.