Wishes concerning improbable future events: reactions to the future

Abstract

This experiment treats of wishes concerning future events assumed to be improbable. Subjects stated for each of ten given situations three important things which they wanted to see happen but which they were certain would never happen. For the various groups of subjects, the greatest convergence of opinion was obtained for international affairs. The author thinks that "through a study of Utopian wishes regarded commonly as beyond realization, social and individual time perspective limits may be measured." (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)