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An Overview of Time Perspective Types
An Overview of Time Perspective Types
Although individual differences in time perspective are continuous along each of the
dimensions specified by factor analyses, as are the combinations of factor scores an
individual gets on each of the temporal dimensions that comprise the time perspective
inventory, extreme “types” may be selected for research and didactic purposes. They are
typically identified by selecting respondents who are above the group median on one time
dimension and below the median on all others. With larger samples, it is possible to select
percentile cutoffs for assigning respondents to different categories. We have always done
within- sample relative comparisons rather than using standardized norms against which
to select individuals for categorical assignment. When we have a larger population base to
draw from, we expect to establish standardized scores for use with different local
samples.
The time perspective biases, or time frames, that emerge most consistently from our
factor analysis of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory are: Future-Orientation, Past-
Orientation, Present-Hedonistic Orientation, and Present-Fatalistic Orientation. There may
be sub- distinctions within the Future category, such as subjects who focus on planning
and persevering toward longer-term goals; or on a shorter-term future in which meeting
deadlines is most important. But for most purposes, those categories are combined within
the general Future- Orientation. However, to test more specific hypotheses, investigators
may give subjects separate scores on each of the future factors and assign them to
different treatments or analyze the data according to subtypes within the Future-
Orientation.
With some samples, a separate factor emerges which I characterize as Time Press, a sense
of time urgency in which the respondent endorses as self-relevant a set of inventory
statements of the pressures and constraints that time imposes on him or her. Part of this
dimension also includes emotional aspects that are time-bound, such as, getting angry at
others when kept waiting. Time Press correlates positively and highly with Future-
Orientation and negatively with Present-Orientation.
The following general characterization of Time Perspective Types is loosely derived from
interviews, case studies, correlational analysis of time perspective scores and other data,
and experimental evidence. It is intended to serve only as a working heuristic to help
investigators form a sense of the kind of person that is prototypical of each category. In
my analysis, each type of time bias involves trade-offs, gains against Losses, and must be
considered in the social environmental context in which the individual is functioning at
any given period in her c life. The fit between environmental/structural/system demands
and the person’s time perspective must be taken into account, so that the optimal time
perspective bias in one s may be sub-optimal in others.
Present-Hedonistic Person: Self indulgent, playful, enjoys all things that bring immediate
pleasure and avoids those that involve much effort, work, planning, or unpleasantness.
Lives to consume the good life and takes many different kinds of risks in part because he
or she does not fully consider the realities of negative consequences and at the same time
seeks stimulation and excitement. Is vulnerable to addictions of all sorts, regardless of
knowledge of potential negative consequences. These people focus more on process and
intrinsic motivation, rarely on products and extrinsically- motivated task performance.
They are vulnerable to being caught up in social taps where short- term gains capture
attention more than long- term negative consequences of imprudent actions. They do
more poorly in academics (or when forced to function in future- oriented environments)
than do the future people. However, where process and focus on immediate details is
important, presents may do well, notably on some types of creative tasks, or activities
with immediate feedback, such as video games. They can also enjoy play, sports, hobbies,
high energy activities, intimacy, sexuality, parties, and may be more intense as friends. On
the other hand, they are more emotional, volatile, easily upset, likely to violate convention
and behave in anti-social ways, be delinquent, criminal, and aggressive.
Present-Fatalistic Person: These people are Present-Oriented by default rather than by
choice. They believe it does not pay to plan since nothing works out for them as they
envision. They feel their lives are externally controlled rather than internally orchestrated
by them. Their self image is largely as a passive pawn of fate, of higher spiritual authority,
or ideological, political, structural forces in their environment. For some, the fatalism is
part of a religious value system in which individual initiative is subordinated to the power
of a deity. For others, it is a byproduct of economic failure, of being lower class or of a
stigmatized caste, with little real opportunity for changing their circumstances. The
positive side of fatalism is belief in luck for changing current circumstances rather than
hard work or planning; it is also likely to be bolstered by superstition and rituals. These
people also have a negative attributional bias that sustains their fatalism by accepting
blame for failure and disowning success as personally caused. They are likely to
experience more severe psychological problems than those of other time types.
Depression, eating disorders, drug addiction, suicide all ought to be more common for the
fatalistic present person than others. They will perform most poorly in school because of
their sell-fulfilling prophesy that nothing good happens to them, the game is fixed, they
are disadvantaged, etc. These people are at great danger for engaging in all high risk, poor
health activities, such as practicing unsafe sex even with a clear and present danger of
AIDS or sexualiy transmitted diseases, since ‘ whatever will be, will be.”
Past-Oriented Person: This type of person is relatively rare in the United States general
population compared to the above types, and especially infrequent among college
students. So we have less information available on them. But we might say tentatively is
that their actions and decisions are primarily constrained by recalling similar situations
and action-consequence sequences that did or did not work in the past. They are able to
distance themselves from the concrete reality of the immediate situation, with its
temptations, while focusing on their obligations, contractual arrangements, and standard
operating procedures. Much more of their behavior will be influenced by the operation of
guilt over discordance between current thoughts and actions and prior commitments.
These people tend to be conservative, concerned over maintaining the status quo,
whether it is really good or bad for them. They do not take risks and are not impressed by
new, more efficient ways of doing familiar things. Rituals and myths play important roles
in their lives as do traditional or fundamental values in religion and politics. They are
suspicious of the new and different. Although they are likely to prize family and family
rituals and enjoy social gatherings with friends and family, they do not open themselves to
new experiences or to strangers. They may be prone to prejudices more so than future-
oriented or present-hedonistic types, to the extent that they fear what is different. In
social traps they will cooperate rather than compete because maintaining good social
relationships is very important, rather than perceiving cooperation as a strategy for
personal gain in these situations. They will also tend not to be adventurous, not to want to
travel far afield or to live far from home. A positive side of past orientation is a sense of
personal continuity or a stable sense of self over time, a sense of rootedness, that is
lacking in futures and present-hedonists. To the extent that their past experiences are
generally positive, these people will enjoy a nostalgic remembrance of the good old times
despite current ills. But with a negative past, they become Smithsonians of trauma,
failure, and frustration, endlessly recycling the non-modifiable past despite current good
times.