Back to the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale: Time to Reconsider?

摘要

The Consideration of Future Consequences (CFC) Scale is a measure of theextent to which individuals consider and are influenced by the distant outcomes of currentbehavior. In this study, the authors conducted factor analysis to investigate the factorstructure of the 12-item CFC Scale. The authors found evidence for a multiple factorsolution including one completely present-oriented factor consisting of all 7 present-oriented items, and one or two future-oriented factors consisting of the remaining future-oriented items. Further evidence indicated that the present-oriented factor and the 12-itemCFC Scale perform similarly in terms of internal consistency and convergent validity. Thestructure and content of the future-oriented factor(s) is unclear. From the findings, theauthors raise questions regarding the construct validity of the CFC Scale, the interpreta-tion of its results, and the usefulness of the CFC scale in its current form in appliedresearch.