Two-Factor Consideration of Future Consequences Scale (CFC-14)

Abstract

The Two Factor Consideration of Future Consequences Scale (CFC-14) is a self-report psychological instrument designed to measure individual differences in the extent to which people consider the potential future outcomes versus the immediate consequences of their current behavior. Originally developed as a 12-item, uni-dimensional scale by Strathman and colleagues (1994), it was later revised and expanded to 14 items by Joireman et al. (2012) to reflect a robust two-factor structure: Consideration of Future Consequences (CFC-F) and Consideration of Immediate Consequences (CFC-I). The CFC-14 utilizes a 7-point Likert scale, offering greater variance compared to the original 5-point format, and exhibits high psychometric reliability for both subscales.

Keywords

Consideration of Future Consequences, CFC-14, time perspective, self-control, impulsivity, promotion orientation, psychological assessment, health behavior.

Authors

Jeff Joireman, Monte J. Shaffer, Daniel Balliet, Alan Strathman

Purpose

The primary purpose of the CFC-14 is to quantify the degree to which an individual’s actions are influenced by outcomes that are immediate (occurring within days or weeks) versus those that are distant (occurring months or years in the future). This scale moves beyond previous uni-dimensional measures by explicitly separating concern for future consequences (CFC-Future subscale) from concern for immediate consequences (CFC-Immediate subscale).

The resulting scores are used in research to predict behaviors related to self-regulation, health choices (such as exercise and eating habits), financial decisions, and environmental conservation, where high future orientation is often associated with adaptive long-term decision-making and a strong promotion orientation.

Construct

The scale measures the psychological construct of Consideration of Future Consequences (CFC), which is defined as the extent to which people consider, and are influenced by, the potential long-term outcomes of their current behaviors. This construct serves as a fundamental individual difference variable in personality and social psychology, influencing decision-making across various domains.

The CFC-14 operationalizes this construct through two distinct, yet related, dimensions:

• CFC-Future (CFC-F): Reflects the degree to which an individual focuses on and values distant outcomes.
• CFC-Immediate (CFC-I): Reflects the degree to which an individual focuses on and values proximal or immediate outcomes, often characterized by impulsive tendencies or prioritizing convenience.

Validity

The construct validity of the CFC-14 is strongly supported by its established two-factor structure, which better captures the nuance of temporal orientation than the original uni-dimensional approach. Structural equation modeling has provided evidence that the two subscales relate differentially to external criteria. For instance, high scores on the CFC-Future subscale are specifically predictive of proactive health behaviors, such as engaging in regular exercise and healthy eating, mediated by the adoption of a promotion orientation.

The distinction between the two subscales is critical for predictive validity, demonstrating that considering future consequences (CFC-F) is not merely the inverse of considering immediate consequences (CFC-I). This structural refinement ensures that the scale accurately measures two distinct facets of temporal decision-making, enhancing its utility in behavioral prediction models.

Reliability

The CFC-14 demonstrates strong internal consistency reliability across both its primary subscales. Internal reliability coefficients (Cronbach’s alphas) for both the CFC-Future and CFC-Immediate subscales typically range from .80 to .84, indicating high consistency among items within each factor.

The original 12-item version of the CFC scale also exhibited high internal reliability (ranging from .80 to .85) and acceptable temporal stability, with a five-week test-retest reliability of .72 (Strathman et al., 1994). The expansion to 14 items, specifically by adding two new future-oriented items, was undertaken to further improve the reliability of the CFC-Future subscale, ensuring robust measurement of this key construct.

Factor Analysis

Initial research utilizing the 12-item CFC scale typically treated the construct as uni-dimensional. However, subsequent research, particularly that conducted by Joireman and colleagues (2008), suggested that the scale intrinsically contained two distinct dimensions. The formal development of the CFC-14 scale included extensive psychometric testing to confirm this structure.

Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the revised 14-item scale strongly supported the presence of two orthogonal factors: the CFC-Future factor and the CFC-Immediate factor. This two-factor model, confirmed through advanced statistical methods like structural equation modeling, validated the revised scale as a superior measure compared to its uni-dimensional predecessor, providing researchers with clearer, more distinct measures of future versus immediate temporal focus.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire / Psychometric inventory

Format: 14 items rated on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = Extremely uncharacteristic of me to 7 = Extremely characteristic of me).

Language Available: English (Original development language); translations may exist in academic literature.

Population Group: General Population / Adults

Age Group: Typically used with adult populations (18+).

Population Details: Developed and validated primarily using university student and general adult samples.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate the degree to which each statement is characteristic of them by selecting a number from 1 to 7. Scoring involves summing or averaging items specific to the CFC-Future and CFC-Immediate subscales. The overall CFC-Total score requires recoding the CFC-Immediate items before averaging across all 14 items.

Keywords

CFC-F, CFC-I, temporal stability, psychometrics, confirmatory factor analysis, behavioral prediction, self-regulation.

Authors (Detailed)

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source content.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source content.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year (Original Scale): 1994 (Strathman et al.)

Test Year (CFC-14 Revision): 2012 (Joireman et al.)

Permissions and Fee: The scale items are generally available for academic and research use, provided the source publication is properly cited. No specific fee structure is mentioned in the source documentation.

Reference’s

Joireman, J., Balliet, D., Sprott, D., Spangenberg, E., & Schultz, J. (2008). Consideration of future consequences, ego-depletion, and self-control: Support for distinguishing between CFC-immediate and CFC-future sub-scales. Personality and Individual Differences, 48, 15-21.

Joireman, J., Shaffer, M., Balliet, D., & Strathman, A. (2012). Promotion orientation explains why future oriented people exercise and eat healthy: Evidence from the two-factor consideration of future consequences 14 scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38, 1272-1287.

Joireman, J., Strathman, A., & Balliet, D. (2006). Considering future consequences: An integrative model. In L. Sanna & E. Chang (Eds.), Judgments over time: The interplay of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (82-99). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Strathman, A., Gleicher, F., Boninger, D. S., & Edwards, C. S. (1994). The consideration of future consequences: Weighing immediate and distant outcomes of behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 742-752.

Items of the Two Factor Consideration of Future Consequences Scale (CFC-14)

The CFC-14 Scale Instructions state: “For each of the statements shown, please indicate whether or not the statement is characteristic of you. If the statement is extremely uncharacteristic of you (not at all like you) please write a “1” in the space provided to the right of the statement; if the statement is extremely characteristic of you (very much like you) please write a “7” in the space provided. And, of course, use the numbers in the middle if you fall between the extremes.”

1. I consider how things might be in the future and try to influence those things with my day-to-day behavior. (F)
2. Often, I engage in a particular behavior in order to achieve outcomes that may not result for many years. (F)
3. I only act to satisfy immediate concerns, figuring the future will take care of itself. (I)
4. My behavior is only influenced by the immediate (i.e., a matter of days or weeks) outcomes of my actions. (I)
5. My convenience is a big factor in the decisions I make or the actions I take. (I)
6. I am willing to sacrifice my immediate happiness or well-being in order to achieve future outcomes. (F)
7. I think it is important to take warnings about negative outcomes seriously even if the negative outcome will not occur for many years. (F)
8. I think it is more important to perform a behavior with important distant consequences than a behavior with less important immediate consequences. (F)
9. I generally ignore warnings about possible future problems because I think the problems will be resolved before they reach crisis level. (I)
10. I think that sacrificing now is usually unnecessary since future outcomes can be dealt with at a later time. (I)
11. I only act to satisfy immediate concerns, figuring that I will take care of future problems that may occur at a later date. (I)
12. Since my day-to-day work has specific outcomes, it is more important to me than behavior that has distant outcomes. (I)
13. When I make a decision, I think about how it might affect me in the future. (F)
14. My behavior is generally influenced by future consequences.(F)

Scoring Note:

• CFC-Immediate Sub-Scale items: 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12.
• CFC-Future Sub-Scale items: 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14.
• CFC-Total Scale calculation requires recoding the immediate items (3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12) before averaging them with the future items (1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14).