Introduction to the psychology of time

1. J O H N G . K U N A , P S Y D A N D A S S O C I A T E S
W W W . J O H N G K U N A P S Y D A N D A S S O C I A T E S . C O M
Psychology of Time

2.  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.

3.  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)

4.  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.

5.  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.

6.  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.

7.  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.

8.  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).

9.  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.

10.  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).

11. 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.

12.  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.

13. References
 Anderson, C. M. (2000). From molecules to mindfulness. How vertically fractal time
 fluctuations unify cognition and emotion. Consciousness & Emotion, 1 (2),
 193-226.

 Barnes, S., Brown, K.W., Campbell, W.K., Krusemark, E., & Rogge, R.D. (2007).The role of
 mindfulness in romantic relationship satisfaction and responses to Relationship Stress. Journal of Marital
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
of time estimation. Science, 303, 1506-1508.

 Davis, D.M., & Hayes, J.A. (2011). What are the benefits of mindfulness? A practice review of
 psychotherapy-related research. Psychotherapy, 48 (2), 198-208.


14.  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
perspective and correlates of well-being. Time & Society, 17 (1), 47-61. doi:
 10.1177/0961463X07986304

 Droit-Volet, S. and Meck, W. H. (2007). How Emotions Color our Perception of Time. Trends
in Cognitive Sciences, 11(12), 504-513.

 Droit-Volet, S. (2013). Time perception in children: A neurodevelopmental approach.
Neuropsychologia. 51 (2), 220-234. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.09.023

 Fuminori, O. (2006). The effect of memory on time perception. The Japanese Journal of
Psychonomic Science, 25(2), 208-211.

 Glicksohn, J. (1992). Subjective time estimation in altered sensory environments.
Environmental
 and Behavior, 24 (5), 634-652. doi:10.1177/0013916592245004.

15.  Grondin, S. (2010). Timing and time perception: A review of recent behavioral and
neuroscience findings and theoretical directions. Attention, Perception &
Psychophysics, 72 (3), 561-582. doi: 10.3758/APP.72.3.561

 Gulliksen, H. (1927). The influence of occupation upon the perception of time.
Journal of Experimental Psychology, 10 (1), 52-59. doi: 10.1037/h0073995

 Hulbert, R. J. and Lens, W. (1988). ‘Time and Self-Identity in Later Life’,
International Journal of Aging and Human Development 27: 293-303

 Jensen, C.G., Vangkilde, S., Frokjaer, V., &Hasselbalch. (2012). Mindfulness
training affects attention- or is it attentional effort?. Journal of Experimental
Psychology, 141 (1), 106-123. doi: 10.1037/a0024931

 Keng, S.L., Smoski, M.J., & Robins, C.J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on
psychological health: A Review of Empirical Studies. Clinical Psychology, 31
 (6), 1041-1056.

16.  Keough, K. A., Zimbardo, P. G. and Boyd, J. N. (1999), ‘Who’s Smoking,
Drinking and Using Drugs? Time Perspective as a Predictor of Substance
Use’, Basic and Applied Psychology 21(2): 149-64


 Kleinbohl, D., & Holzl, R. (2012). A "view from No-when" on time
perception experiments. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 38 (5),
1118-1124

 Klingeman, H. (2001). ‘The Time Game: Temporal Activity on Emotional
Well-being Among Older Australian Women: Cross-sectional and
Longitudinal Analysis’, Time & Society 10(2-3): 303-28.

 Nuttin, J. (1985). Future Time Perspective and Motivation: Theory and
Research Methods. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum

17.  Macar, F., & Vidal, F. (2009). Timing processes: An outline of
behavioural and neural indices not systematically
considered in timing models. Canadian Journal of
Experimental Psychology, 63, 227-
239.doi:10.1037/a0014457

 Penney, T. B., & Vaitilingam, L. (2008). Imaging time. In S.
Grondin (Ed.), Psychology of time (pp. 261-294).
Bingley, U.K.: Emerald Group.

 Tulving, E. (2002). Chronesthesia: Conscious awareness of
subjective time. In D. T. Stuss & R. T. Knight (Eds.),
Principles of frontal lobe function (pp. 311-325). New York:
Oxford University Press.

18.  Wassarman, H. S. (2002). ‘The Role of Expectancies and Time
Perspectives in Gambling Behavior’, Dissertation Abstracts
International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering
62(8-B): 3818

 Wittmann, M. (2009). The inner experience of time.
Philosophical Transitions of The Royal
 Society, 364 (1525), 1955-1967. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2009.0003


 Zimbardo, P. G. and Boyd, J. N. (1999). ‘Putting Time in
Perspective: A Valid, Reliable and Individual Difference
Metric’. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 77:
1271- 88.