The end-of-history illusion is the tendency for people at any given age to believe that they have already experienced most of the significant personal growth and change they will ever undergo, while underestimating how much they are likely to continue changing in the future. The psychologists Jordi Quoidbach, Daniel Gilbert and Timothy Wilson documented the effect in a 2013 study spanning respondents from age eighteen to sixty eight, finding that people consistently reported more change over the preceding decade than they predicted for the decade ahead, a pattern that held at every age surveyed. The researchers described the effect as evidence that people, despite having accurately recalled substantial personal change in their own past, systematically believe that who they are now is essentially their finished, final self.
Facts
Core ClaimThe end-of-history illusion is the tendency for people of all ages to believe they have grown and changed a great deal up to now but will change little in the future. 1 First Described Year Classification
Type of Phenomenon Connections
In Branch
Source Wikipedia: End-of-History Illusion
Sources
1. Wikipedia: End-of-History Illusion
WikipediaLead paragraph
The end-of-history illusion is a psychological illusion in which individuals of all ages believe that they have experienced significant personal growth and changes in tastes up to the present moment, but will not substantially grow or mature in the future.
Original study section
The term "End of History Illusion" originated in a 2013 journal article by psychologists Jordi Quoidbach, Daniel Gilbert, and Timothy Wilson detailing their research on the phenomenon and leveraging the phrase coined by Francis Fukuyama's 1992 book of the same name.
lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
The end-of-history illusion is a psychological illusion in which individuals of all ages believe that they have experienced significant personal growth and changes in tastes up to the present moment, but will not substantially grow or mature in the future.
In Branch: Cognitive Psychology, Categories
Wikipedia article 'End-of-history illusion' is filed under Category:Cognitive biases.
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