Mentally contrasting future with reality is a self-regulation strategy that triggers expectancy-dependent energization for tasks instrumental to attaining the desired future. Energization by mental contrasting even transfers to tasks unrelated to the desired future at hand. Would such energization transfer by mental contrasting even energize people to perform unrelated tasks for which they have low success expectations? In Laboratory Experiment 1, mentally contrasting (vs. indulging) about performing well in a creativity task triggered physiological energization and better performance in an unrelated low-expectancy cognitive task that participants received in place of the creativity task. In Field Experiment 2, mentally contrasting an interpersonal wish helped schoolchildren invest more effort and perform better in a low-expectancy academic task—finding typos. Online Experiment 3 replicated Experiment 2 with adults. Mental contrasting participants’ effort and performance in the low-expectancy academic task did not differ from their effort and performance in a high-expectancy task. We discuss implications for designing interventions to foster energization for low-expectancy tasks.

在心理上将未来与现实进行对比是一种自我调节策略，它会触发依赖于期望的激励，以完成有助于实现理想未来的任务。通过心理对比激发的能量甚至转移到与手头期望的未来无关的任务。这种通过心理对比传递的能量甚至会激励人们执行他们对成功期望不高的无关任务吗？在实验室实验 1 中，关于在创造力任务中表现出色的心理对比（与沉迷）触发了生理活力和在不相关的低期望认知任务中更好的表现，参与者代替创造力任务接受了该任务。在现场实验 2 中，在心理上对比人际愿望帮助学童投入更多精力并在期望值较低的学业任务（查找错别字）中表现更好。在线实验 3 与成人重复实验 2。心理对比参与者在低期望学术任务中的努力和表现与他们在高期望任务中的努力和表现没有差异。我们讨论了设计干预措施以促进低期望任务的活力的影响。