Psychology of Time: Before, after and inbetween Anna Sircova PhD in Psychology anna.sircova@gmail.com timeperspective.net
Psychology of Time • How psychologists study time • What is time perspective • Time and cities, the pace of life • Time perspective, human behavior and preventing resource depletion
• How to find temporal balance
Time as a psychological phenomenon • Objective, or clock time: • a dimension of mental functioning (cognitive studies involving chronometry);
• a resource we allocate (studies of time use, time budgets, time management);
• Subjective time: • subjective dimension (studies of time perception and factors affecting it);
• a context of our life, frame for our activity (studies of time perspective).
Time Perspective •
When we make a decision we orientate (are guided by) on our past, or our notion of the future, or on our experiences in the present.
•
Time orientation – relative dominance of past, present or future in a person’s thought (Hornik & Zakay, 1996).
•
Time perspective is individual's view of his/her future or past in his/her present (K.Lewin, 1949).
Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory • Prof. Zimbardo extends this theory and distinguishes 5 different kinds of time perspective:
• Past Positive • Past Negative • Present Fatalistic • Present Hedonistic • Future
Two aspects of past orientation •
Past Negative (NP) orientation, in which the past is predominantly seen as unpleasant and aversive.
•
Past Positive orientation (PP), in which past experiences or past times are seen in a nostalgic, rosy, and pleasant way.
Two aspects of present orientation • The present can be perceived in a hedonistic (PH) way, as full of pleasure, enjoying the moment without remorse for later consequences of actual behavior.
• Alternatively one can have a fatalistic present (PF) orientation. People with this orientation strongly believe in fate, have a resigned attitude toward the present in which they believe it cannot be changed and that they cannot influence either present events or their future.
Future orientation The fifth factor is future orientation (F), characterized by having goals and making plans for the future, and behaving so as to increase the chances of carrying out those plans and realizing those goals.
Balanced time perspective • “Balanced TP” – most
psychologically and physically healthy for individuals and optimal for societal functioning.
• It’s a mental ability to switch flexibly among TPs depending on task features, situational considerations, and personal resources rather than be biased toward a specific TP that is not adaptive across situations.
Time Perspective Network: introduction
www.tpcph2016.com
TP and other spheres PN
PP
PF
PH
F
Depression / Hostility
++
++
Low self-esteem / Anxiety
++
++
Impulsivity / Risk-taking
+
++
++
--
++
++
--
--
+
Procrastination Regular screenings for breast cancer
-
Wearing a wrist watch
++
--
Health responsibility
++
+
Academic achievement at school
--
Gambling
++
Optimism, satisfaction with life
--
++
Hardiness (remaining healthy under stress)
--
Pro-environmental behavior
++ ++
++
--
--
++
++
++
--
+
+
++
--
--
++
Developmental dynamics: how time perspective changes through out the course of life
Estimated Marginal Means
Estimated Marginal Means of PN_ Past Negative 3,2
3,0
2,8
2,6
GEN
2,4
f
2,2
m
do 20
30-39 21-29
50-59 40-49
7060-69
Estimated Marginal Means
PastMarginal Positive Estimated Means of PP_ 4,1 4,0 3,9 3,8 3,7
GEN 3,6 f
3,5 3,4
m
do 20
30-39 21-29
50-59 40-49
7060-69
Estimated Marginal Means
PresentMarginal Hedonistic Means of PH_ Estimated 3,8
3,6
3,4
3,2
GEN
3,0
f
2,8
m
do 20
30-39 21-29
50-59 40-49
7060-69
Present Fatalistic Means of PF_ Estimated Marginal 3,6 3,4 3,2 3,0
GEN
2,8 2,6
f
2,4
m
do 20
30-39 21-29
50-59 40-49
7060-69
Estimated Marginal Means
EstimatedFuture Marginal Means of F_N 4,4 4,2 4,0 3,8
GEN
3,6 3,4
f
3,2
m
do 20
30-39 21-29
50-59 40-49
7060-69
Time and cities: Pace of Life
Pace of life across countries
Studies by Robert Levine
TABLE 1
Meansa and Ranks on Pace Measures by Country Overall Pace Index Country Switzerland Ireland Germany Japan Italy England Sweden Austria Netherlands Hong Kong France Poland Costa Rica Taiwan Singapore United States Canada S. Korea Hungary Czech Republic Greece Kenya China Bulgaria Romania Jordan Syria El Salvador Brazil Indonesia Mexico
Walking Speed
Postal Speed
M
Rank
M
Rank
M
Rank
–3.43 –3.02 –3.00 –2.68 –2.13 –2.09 –1.96 –1.43 –1.43 –1.39 –1.36 –1.32 –1.13 –0.73 –0.65 –0.30 –0.26 –0.02 0.01 0.28 0.54 0.78 1.03 1.59 2.42 2.44 3.26 3.63 3.98 4.14 4.23
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
11.80 11.13 12.01 12.11 12.75 12.00 12.92 14.08 11.45 13.10 12.34 12.90 13.33 13.58 14.75 12.03 12.86 13.76 13.75 13.80 13.10 12.58 14.26 15.57 16.72 15.79 15.95 14.04 16.76 14.82 13.56
3 1 5 7 10 4 13 23 2 14 8 12 16 18 25 6 11 20 19 21 14 9 24 27 30 28 29 22 31 26 17
16.91 17.49 13.46 18.61 23.00 20.78 19.10 20.60 24.42 20.10 27.84 25.83 21.13 20.22 22.42 36.99 30.50 29.75 28.45 27.73 24.33 42.50 39.63 33.67 42.25 39.92 40.02 25.88 38.17 39.64 70.00
2 3 1 4 12 9 5 8 14 6 18 15 10 7 11 23 21 20 19 17 13 30 25 22 29 27 28 16 24 26 31
Clock Accuracy M 19.29 51.42 43.00 35.00 24.17 53.72 40.20 25.00 82.33 54.83 49.00 43.00 55.38 68.00 32.00 67.87 70.00 58.00 64.17 76.07 117.0 77.14 51.82 60.00 32.46 66.16 94.52 210.0 108.0 161.5 92.31
Rank 1 11 8 6 2 13 7 3 25 14 10 8 15 21 4 20 22 16 18 23 29 24 12 17 5 19 27 31 28 30 26
a. Overall pace index means are the average of the z-scores for each measure. For the other measures, smaller numbers represent faster walking speeds, faster postal times, and smaller clock deviations (all in seconds).
Implications • Health • Psychological well-being • Helping behavior
Health • Faster places - higher rates of death from heart disease
• Japan - a notable exception
Psychological wellbeing: where people are happier? Paradox: people in faster places are more prone to suffer coronary heart disease, but they are also more likely to be happier with their lives
Social well-being: where do people help? •
pace of life has important implications for the way people treat each other
•
some people manage to find the time to help in fast places just as they do in slow ones: Copenhagen scored high on pace of life, but still got high scores for willingness to offer assistance to strangers
•
cultural difference in terms of a code of social responsibility
Time perspective and cities People, living in smaller cities are mostly Future oriented
People, living in big cities are mostly Present Hedonistic
Time perspective, human behavior and preventing resource depletion
Cooperation index across countries
Correlations between the cooperation index and socio-economic indicators
Finding your temporal balance
Balanced time perspective:
 proposed optimal profile Future"
PAST-POSITIVE - high
5"
4"
FUTURE - moderately high
3"
PRESENT-HEDONISM moderate
Present" Fatalis3c"
2"
Present" Hedonis3c"
1"
random"
PAST-NEGATIVE - low PRESENT-FATALISM - low
Balanced"TP" Past" Nega3ve"
Past" Posi3ve"
People with BTP in Russian sample: • • • • •
they are few (around 7%) mostly female most were younger than 30 years they were both single or married mostly people with higher education and working
In Sweden: • • •
are a bit more common (14%)
•
married, living together with their partner or single
•
all coming from full families and had brothers / sisters
•
The BTP profile is stable (we met with the same people 2 times with 18 months passed in the meantime)
mostly male aged between 21 and 26, and 1 participant was 50 y.o.
What’s my time perspective?
Book by Zimbardo and Boyd “The Time Paradox”
Take a test online: http://timeintelligence.co.uk/
Recommendations how to get more BTP
More PAST in your life • Prepare your PDH: Personal Developmental History: Scrapbook of all past mementoes, add your reflections of each era of your life
• Tape oral history of your family • Help plan family rituals • Remind your parents, grandparents of your gratitude for what they did for you
• Watch old movies, read historical novels,
biographies, listen to golden oldies, classical music
• Learn swing dancing • Hang out with Past Positive folks • Change your past negatives into POSITIVES
More FUTURE in your life • Practice goal setting, set reasonable goals • Make to-do lists, prioritize, reward self for completion
• Practice delay of gratification • Say NO to hedonistic temptations, and risky acts
• Think contingencies, options, cost-benefit analyses, probabilities, long-term payoffs
• Read Science Fiction • Get medical checkups, floss your teeth • Hang out with Future folks
More PRESENT in your life • Find the Child within your adult mind • Practice meditation, yoga, improvisation, comedy, joke telling
• Waste time, fly kites, blow bubbles, Frisbee, act silly • Enjoy nature, be more physical • Learn to dance well and often • Listen to rock, hip hop, jazz • Intensely connect to friends • Practice sensual pleasures: massage, hot tub, sauna, • Be in the moment: More Intimacy, more Sexuality (safely)
• Associate with Present Hedonistic folks
For more inspiration Animation with Phil Zimbardo explaining his theory of time perspective: http://youtu.be/A3oIiH7BLmg Zimbardo’s TED talk: http://youtu.be/bo4HiVetBd0
Psychology of Time: Before, after and inbetween Anna Sircova PhD in Psychology anna.sircova@gmail.com timeperspective.net