Scientists may have found an explanation for why certain people are naturally more inclined to think ahead and imagine future scenarios, and it comes down to how the brain rewards itself for doing so.
Professor Ekrem Dere, based at Ruhr University Bochum in Germany and Sorbonne Universite in Paris, has put forward a new theory suggesting that the simple act of mentally projecting oneself into the future activates the brain's reward system. His findings have been published in the journal Psychological Review on 6 April 2026.
The process, known as future-oriented mental time travel, refers to the ability to picture upcoming events, weigh possible outcomes, and plan accordingly. While some people do this regularly, others rarely engage in it at all. Professor Dere believes the difference lies in how the brain responds to the exercise.
The Brain Rewards Itself for Thinking Ahead
According to Dere, future-oriented mental time travel follows the same principle as operant conditioning, a well-established learning mechanism in which behaviours that are rewarded tend to be repeated. When imagining the future appears to offer a promising solution to a problem, whether personal or professional, the brain's reward circuitry is triggered.
"The benefit of future-oriented mental time travel is clear," Dere said. "It allows us to be more successful and less stressed in our day-to-day, as the future becomes more predictable and thus easier to plan."
This reward response, he argues, makes it easier for the brain to hold onto a plan until it is carried out, and crucially, it encourages the person to repeat the behaviour more often in the future. Over time, habitual forward thinkers may develop an increasingly responsive mesolimbic dopamine system, the part of the brain associated with motivation and reward. Dere suggests this theory could be tested using functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, brain scans.
When Future Thinking Goes Wrong
Professor Dere is careful to note that mental time travel is not always a positive force. In people with certain mental health conditions, the same cognitive process can be turned against them.
Rather than imagining helpful or constructive futures, some individuals find themselves repeatedly replaying negative past experiences and projecting them forward, a pattern known as catastrophising. This kind of thinking can generate persistent negative emotions, erode self-esteem, and lead to avoidance behaviour that makes recovery from mental illness harder.
"In a pathopsychological context, the cognitive function of mental time travel can also be hijacked by disease-preserving processes," Dere explained, adding that it would be important for psychotherapists to train patients in constructive future thinking while identifying and interrupting catastrophising thought patterns before they take hold.
The research opens a new avenue for understanding not just human behaviour and planning, but also the psychological roots of conditions such as anxiety, depression, and chronic stress.
