TSK

Ment al time travel-: The ability to travel mentally through time sets humans apart from many other species, yet little is known about this core cognitive capacity. In particular, what shapes the passage of the mind's journey through time? A core facet of conscious experience is that one's mind periodically wanders from the here-and-now. From memories of lost loves to expectations about forthcoming vacations, mental time travel (MTT) makes it possible to revisit the past and pre-experience the future. Present across cultures and emerging early in childhood, MTT is believed to serve a pivotal function in human cognition. When confronted with complex and challenging judgments, simulating future outcomes (i.e.,  prospection ) based on prior experience (i.e.,  retrospection ) is a tactic that optimizes decision-making and behavioural selection. That the past informs the future in this way (i.e.,  recollection-guides-simulation ) is evidenced from research demonstrat