The comparison of neural mechanisms underlying prospective versus retrospective thinking of sustainable behaviours

Abstract Understanding the psychological and neural mechanisms underlying sustainable behaviour is essential in the face of environmental crises. This preregistered functional magnetic resonance imaging study aimed to replicate and extend Brevers et al.’s work (Brevers et al. 2021 Nat. Sustain. 4, 433–439 (doi:10.1038/s41893-020-00658-3)) by investigating how imagining oneself engaging in sustainable or unsustainable actions—either in the past or in the future—influences behavioural responses and brain activity. We recruited 50 university students in Taiwan, who viewed images depicting everyday behaviours with varying environmental impacts and simulated themselves performing those actions either in the past or the future. After each simulation, participants rated the perceived feasibility of the behaviour. Behaviourally, participants reported more frequent engagement in unsustainable behaviours in the past but showed a stronger intention to engage in sustainable behaviours in the future. Neuroimaging results revealed greater activation in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex when simulating future sustainable actions. Psychophysiological interaction analyses showed reduced functional connectivity between this region and both the left hippocampus and the middle temporal gyrus during these simulations. A multivariate pattern analysis identified the right insula as a key region distinguishing sustainable from unsustainable behaviour simulations. These findings offer new insights into the neural and cognitive processes supporting sustainable decision-making and highlight potential neural markers of environmental engagement.