Planning the Future in a Longer Perspective: Effects of a One-week Forecast of Mental Health

A long-term perspective toward the future enables a more comprehensive approach to decision-making, considering a variety of potential scenarios. The forecasting of mental health was anticipated to promote proactive planning, however, it faces challenges such as a short forecasting period and a lack of intuitive understanding of the relationship between actions and the forecast. This study presents a novel mental health indicator that incorporates a long-term perspective by considering past actions. A four-week experiment was conducted with 105 participants to evaluate the effects of a one-week forecast. Qualitative analysis reveals the effects of the one-week forecast on behavioral planning, emotional states, and reasons for disregarding the forecasts. Findings indicate that conventional mood indicators prompt participants to prioritize pre-existing schedules and perceive the forecast as infeasible, whereas the proposed indicator enhances the ability to plan work schedules in advance. Our results offer valuable insights into the presentation of forecasts for effectively managing mental health, considering the time constraints of everyday life.