Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Article
  • Psychological Science

A 'Present' for the Future: The Unexpected Value of Rediscovery

By: Ting Zhang, Tami Kim, Alison Wood Brooks, Francesca Gino and Michael I. Norton
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

Although documenting everyday activities may seem trivial, four studies reveal that creating records of the present generates unexpected benefits by allowing future rediscoveries. In Study 1, we use a "time capsule" paradigm to show that individuals underestimate the extent to which rediscovering experiences from the past will be curiosity-provoking and interesting in the future. In Studies 2 and 3, we find that people are particularly likely to underestimate the pleasure of rediscovering ordinary, mundane experiences compared to rediscovering extraordinary experiences. Finally, Study 4 demonstrates that underestimating the pleasure of rediscovery leads to time-inconsistent choices: individuals forgo opportunities to document the present but then prefer to rediscover those moments in the future. Underestimating the value of rediscovery is linked to people's erroneous faith in their memory of everyday events. By documenting the present, people provide themselves with the opportunity to rediscover mundane moments that may otherwise have been forgotten.

Keywords

History; Information Management; Cognition And Thinking

Citation

Zhang, Ting, Tami Kim, Alison Wood Brooks, Francesca Gino, and Michael I. Norton. "A 'Present' for the Future: The Unexpected Value of Rediscovery." Psychological Science 25, no. 10 (October 2014): 1851–1860.
  • Find it at Harvard
  • Read Now

About The Authors

Ting Zhang

Organizational Behavior
→More Publications

Alison Wood Brooks

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

Francesca Gino

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

Michael I. Norton

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • February 2021
    • Faculty Research

    Doist: Building the Future of Asynchronous Work

    By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, Francesca Gino and Jeffrey Huizinga
    • February 2021
    • Faculty Research

    Emma Dench: Leadership and Ancient Rome

    By: Francesca Gino and Frances X. Frei
    • February 2021
    • Faculty Research

    Emma Dench: Leadership and Ancient Rome

    By: Francesca Gino, Youngme Moon, Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss
More from the Authors
  • Doist: Building the Future of Asynchronous Work By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, Francesca Gino and Jeffrey Huizinga
  • Emma Dench: Leadership and Ancient Rome By: Francesca Gino and Frances X. Frei
  • Emma Dench: Leadership and Ancient Rome By: Francesca Gino, Youngme Moon, Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College