MS MICHELLA FELDBORG

Biography

I am completing my PhD in psychology which I started in 2022. My main research project investigates how people relate to their future self and how their future self identification influences cognition and behaviour. My main interest area is social cognition. Besides my research, I also tutor and support undergraduate students.

Internal Memberships

PhD Student Representative

Early Career Researcher Forum Organiser

Current Research

Future Self Identification and Prioritising Future Self-Related Information

The project examines the behavioural effects of thinking about one's own "self" in the future. The self-concept allows humans to connect and make sense of their experiences (Sui, 2016). It is highly debated whether the self is bound to the now or if it can be extended into the future. The existing literature suggests that important future self imaginations can lead to stronger identification with one's future which influences cognition and behaviour. We wanted to investigate how imagining future selves in different ways influences the self-prioritisation effect to infer whether self-biases can be extended into the future.

Habit Formation and Prioritising Habit- and Self-Related Information

Previous research on habits support that positive attitudes can facilitate habit formation (Verplanken & Orbell) and that habits are stronger if they are identified with the self (Verplanken & Sui). From the previous findings, it could be speculated that if people integrate a new habit behaviour with their self-concept and make it a mean to achieve their ideal self, they are more likely to form a strong, stable habit. We wanted to investigate these links further by following participants' habit formation over a month while measuring habit strength, attitudes, and self-identification with the habit.