JOHN G. KUNA, PSYD AND ASSOCIATES

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Psychology of Time

I. Introduction to the Psychology of Time Time is both an objective reality, as well as a subjective psychological

construct

Time could be defined as the physical measurement of motion (ie, the measurement of the motion of the earth around the sun),

Time is also a psychological construct Examples:

“A watched pot never boils” = the seeming prolongation of less enjoyable experiences

  “Time flies when you’re having fun” is indicative of the psychological

phenomenon whereby perception of time is directly proportional to our perceived level of enjoyment in the present task.

II. Psychology of Time: A (brief!) review of the Literature

There is at present a vast literature on the psychology of time.

 Grondin, 2010 offers a thorough bibliography.  Some specific studies:

Psychology of time as it relates to our emotional state (Droit-Volet and Meck, 2007),

Psychology of time and Memory (Fuminori, 2006), Children’s perception of time (Droit-Volet, 2013)

III. The vocabulary of the Psychology of Time

A distinct lack of clarity and a uniform terminology is apparent throughout the literature (Hulbert and Lens, 1988; Nuttin, 1985).

Time perception, temporal orientation, and time perspective, are often used equivocally (Hulbert and Lens, 1988).

Concepts such as temporal experience, subjective experience, and sense of time are all used interchangeably and indicate how human beings delineate the passage of time into chunks or groups.

IV. Some Operational Definitions

Time attitude refers to the positive or negative emotional response when understood in contradistinction towards past, present or future time periods (Nuttin, 1985).

Time orientation, on the other hand, involves a defining which of the above time periods a person tends to favor (De Volder, 1979).

Time perception is described as an individual’s subjective assessment of the passage of time itself.

V. Some Theoretical Camps

Nuttin (1985), for example, describes time perception as a psychological construct containing four sub-factors: extension, structuralization, and realism. Nuttin represents a phenomenological approach to time perception.

Tulving (2002) on the other hand, coined the term “chronesthesia” to describe a person’s subjective experience of time.

V. A Neurological Approach to Time Perspective

The increase in new technologies over the past 15 years has led to a growing body of literature on the perception of time from a neurological perspective (Coull, Vidal, Nazarian, &Macar, 2004).

With such a vast literature on the neurological component of time perception, an exhaustive review would not be possible here.

Penney and Vaitilingam (2008) provide an invaluable list of tables obtained through imaging techniques.

Macar and Vidal (2009) further provide a vital resource for those interested in EEG data concerning time perception.

VI. Zimbardo and Boyd (1999)

They made a significant contribution to the study of time perception.

Defined time perspective as the way in which individuals organize and relate to the dimensions of past, present and future,

Created an instrument to measure one’s perspective of time—the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI).

The instrument measures 5 categories of time perspective:

Past Negative (PN) is indicative of a negative view of the past, and may possibly indicate past trauma;

Past Positive (PP) suggests a more positive and receptive view of past events;

Present Hedonistic (PH), as the name implies, is associated with pleasure seeking in the present, with lack of concern for future consequences;

Present Fatalistic (PF) describes a time perspective with lack of hope for the future, as well as the notion that at present fatalistic forces oversee one’s actions;

Future (F) time perspective is concerned with rewards given after achievement of long term goals.

VII. Zimbardo and Boyd (1999): The Research Found that a Past Negative (PN) time perspective was

correlated with fewer close friends, anxiety, depression and lower self-esteem (Zimbardo and Boyd, 1999).

Further research has corroborated this, noting that individuals with a PN perspective also tend to gamble more (Wassarman, 2002), and are more likely to be in drug and alcohol programs (Klingeman, 2001).

 On the other hand, high PP scores were related to higher self-

esteem levels and higher levels of well-being as well as agreeableness and energy levels (Zimbardo and Boyd, 1999).

Zimbardo and Boyd, Cont.

Research on future time perspectives (F) indicates positive correlates of well-being such as less psychopathy (Wallace, 1956, cited in Zimbardo and Boyd, 1999) and higher levels of academic achievement (Zimbardo and Boyd, 1999),

It has also been suggested that an overemphasis on a future time perspective inhibits spontaneity as well as an inability to enjoy the present (Boniwell and Zimbardo, 2004).

Finally, while some research has indicated that Present temporal focus is associated with general subjective happiness (Csikszentrnihalyi, 1992; Keough, et a1., 1999), a Present Temporal focus could also be concerned with instant gratification and a lack of regard for the consequences of behavior.

Next: An introduction to the concept of Mindfulness; an analysis of empirical studies correlating Mindfulness and Perception of Time with Subjective Well-Being (both eudaimonic and henonic SWB).

Implications for clinical practice will be offered.

References

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and Family Therapy, 33 (4), 482-500.   Boniwell, I. and Zimbardo, P. G. (2004). ‘Balancing One’s Time Perspective in Pursuit of Optimal

Functioning’, in P. A. Linley and S. Joseph (eds) Positive Psychology in Practice, pp. 165-78. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

  Brown, K. W. and Ryan, R. M. (2003). ‘The Benefits of Being Present: Mindfulness and Its Role in

Psychological Wellbieng’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 84(4): 822- 48.   Czikszentmihalyi, M. (1992). The Psychology of Happiness. London: Rider   Coull, J. T., Vidal, F., Nazarian, B., & Macar, F. (2004). Functional anatomy of the attentional modulation

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De Volder, M. (1979). ‘Time Orientation: A Review’, Psychologica Belgica 19: 61-79   Drake, L., Duncan, E., Sutherland, F., Abernethy, C., & Henry, C. (2008). Time

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  Fuminori, O. (2006). The effect of memory on time perception. The Japanese Journal

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