Thinking about the future: The nature and development of mental time travel

该项目是对人类考虑未来事件的能力发展进行的首批系统调查之一。各种新颖的任务将探索儿童对未来的了解，以及未来与他们对过去事件的推理能力之间的关系。将儿童和类人猿进行比较，将进一步让我们了解这一关键心理技能的性质。这些发现将为制定适当的教育方法和理解异常现象提供有价值的信息。作为这一领域的国际领导者，我们处于进行这项研究的理想位置，为研究生培训提供独特的机会，并继续保持澳大利亚在基础研究方面的卓越传统。

This project is one of the first systematic investigations into the development of the human capacity to consider future events. A variety of novel tasks will probe what children know about the future and how it relates to their ability to reason about past events. Comparisons between children and apes will further inform us about the nature of this crucial mental skill. The findings will provide valuable information for developing appropriate educational approaches and for our understanding of abnormalities. As international leaders in this field, we are in an ideal position to conduct this research, offer unique opportunities for postgraduate training, and to continue in Australia's outstanding tradition of excellence in basic research.