Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Time Perspective pp 63–95Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Balanced Time Perspective: Developing Empirical Profile and Exploring Its Stability over Time

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

Balanced time perspective (BTP) is characterized by flexible switching between a person’s past, present and future time orientations, depending on situational demands, personal resources, experiences, and social evaluations. The present study aimed to explore the psychological characteristics of people with a BTP profile and attain a deeper understanding of the BTP construct. Seven people with BTP profiles were investigated using in-depth interviews, self-report instruments, and a projective test. By testing the participants on two occasions within an 18-month interval, we investigated the stability of BTP. Analyses showed that participants were aware of the “now” and had a synchronicity between the present and the past, and also between the present and the future. Results indicated a degree of temporal stability in the BTP profile and that people’s interpretations and interactions within the surrounding context of events influences their time perspectives.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
EUR   29.95
Price includes VAT (France)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
EUR   106.99
Price includes VAT (France)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
EUR   137.14
Price includes VAT (France)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
EUR   137.14
Price includes VAT (France)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. (2006). Beck depression inventory—Manual, svensk version. Sandviken: Psykologiförlaget AB.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergson, H. (1889). Essai sur les données immédiates de la conscience. Translation (2007) Time and Free Will. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boniwell, I. (2005). Beyond time management: How the latest research on time perspective and perceived time use can assist clients with time-related concerns. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 3(2), 61–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boniwell, I. (2009). Perspectives on time. In S. J. Lopez & C. R. Snyder (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed., Chapter 27, pp. 295–302). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boniwell, I., Osin, E., Linley, P. A., & Ivanchenko, G. V. (2010). A question of balance: Time perspective and well-being in British and Russian samples. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 5(1), 24–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boniwell, I., & Zimbardo, P. G. (2004). Balancing time perspective in pursuit of optimal functioning. In P. A. Linley & S. Joseph (Eds.), Positive psychology in practice (Chapter 10, pp. 165–178). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, J. N., & Zimbardo, P. G. (2005). Time perspective, health, and risk taking. In A. Strathman & J. Joireman (Eds.), Understanding behavior in the context of time: Theory, research and application (pp. 85–107). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carelli, M. G., & Olsson, C. J. (2015). Neural correlates of time perspective. In M. Stolarski, N. Fieulaine & W. van Beek. (Eds.), Time perspective theory; Review, research and application—Essays in honor of Philip G. Zimbardo (1st ed., pp. 231–242). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. ISBN: 978-3-319-07367-5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carelli, M. G., & Wiberg, B. (2012). Time out of mind temporal perspective in adults with ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 16(6), 460–466.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carelli, M. G., Wiberg, B., & Åström, E. (2015). Broadening the TP profile: Future negative time perspective. In M. Stolarski, N. Fieulaine & W. van Beek (Eds.), Time perspective theory; Review, research and application—Essays in honor of Philip G. Zimbardo (1st ed., Chapter 5, pp. 87–97). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. ISBN: 978-3-319-07367-5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carelli, M. G., Wiberg, B., & Wiberg, M. (2011). Development and construct validation of the Swedish Zimbardo time perspective inventory. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 27(4), 220–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cottle, T. J. (1967). The circles test: An investigation of perceptions of temporal relatedness and dominance. Journal of Projective Techniques & Personality Assessment, 31(5), 58–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cottle, T. J. (1976). Perceiving time: A psychological investigation with men and women. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Derogatis, L. R. (1977). The SCL-90 manual I: Scoring, administration and procedures for the SCL-90. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Clinical Psychometrics Unit.

    Google Scholar 

  • Derogatis, L. R., Lipman, R. S., & Covi, L. (1973). SCL-90: An outpatients psychiatric rating scale—a preliminary report. Psychopharmacological Bulletin, 9, 13–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E. D., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71–75.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Drake, L., Duncan, E., Sutherland, F., Abernethy, C., & Henry, C. (2008). Time perspective and correlates of wellbeing. Time & Society, 17(1), 47–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epel, E., Bandura, A., & Zimbardo, P. G. (1999). Escaping homelessness: The influences of self-efficacy and time perspective on coping with homelessness. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29, 575–596.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fraisse, P. (1957). La période réfractaire psychologique. L’année Psychologique, 57(2), 315–328.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • James, W. (1890). The principles of psychology (Vol. 1). New York: Henry Holt and Co. (Reprint, 1950, New York: Dover).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewin, K. (1942). Time perspective and morale. In G. Lewin (Ed.), Resolving social conflicts (pp. 103–124). New York: Harper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in the social sciences: Selected theoretical papers. New York: Harper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Litvinovic, G. (1998). Perceived change, time orientation and subjective well-being through the life span in Yugoslavia and the United States. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • McTaggart, J. E. (1908). The unreality of time. Mind, 17(68), 457–474. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2248314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nuttin, J. R., & Lens, W. (1985). Future time perspective and motivation: Theory and research method. Leuven: Leuven University Press & Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paykel, E. S. (1983). Methodological aspects of life events research. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 27(5), 341–352.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069–1081.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seifert, T. A. (2005). The Ryff scales of psychological well-being. Center of Inquiry Home. University of Iowa. Recuperado de. Retrieved from http://www.liberalarts.wabash.edu/ryff-scales

  • Shostrom, E. L. (1964). An inventory for the measurement of self-actualization. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 24, 207–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shostrom, E. L. (1968). Time as an integrating factor. In C. Bühler & F. Massarik (Eds.), The course of human life: A study of goals in the humanistic perspective (Chapter 20, pp. 351–359). New York: Springer Publishing Company, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shostrom, E. L. (1974). Manual for the personal orientation inventory. San Diego, CA: Educational and Industrial Testing Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sircova, A., & Mitina, O. (2008). Balanced time perspective (BTP) as a resource of person’s optimal functioning. Paper presented at the 4th European Conference on Positive Psychology, Opatija, Croatia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sircova, A., van de Vijver, F. J., Osin, E., Milfont, T. L., Fieulaine, N., Kislali-Erginbilgic, A., … Boyd, N. J. (2014). A global look at time—A 24-country study of the equivalence of the Zimbardo time perspective inventory. Sage Open, 4(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244013515686

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J. A., Flowers, P., & Larkin, M. (2009). Interpretative phenomenological analysis: Theory, method and research. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stolarski, M., Bitner, J., & Zimbardo, P. G. (2011). Time perspective, emotional intelligence and discounting of delayed awards. Time & Society, 20(3), 346–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stolarski, M., Wiberg, B., & Osin, E. (2015). Assessing temporal harmony: The issue of a balanced time perspective. In M. Stolarski, N. Fieulaine & W. van Beek (Eds.), Time perspective theory; Review, research and application—Essays in honor of Philip G. Zimbardo (1st ed., Chapter 3, pp. 57–71). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. ISBN: 978-3-319-07367-5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiberg, B., Wiberg, M., Carelli, M. G., & Sircova, A. (2012). A qualitative and quantitative study of seven persons with balanced time perspective (BTP) according to S-ZTPI. Poster presentation at the Ist International Conference on Time Perspective and Research: Converging Paths in Psychology Time Theory and Research (pp. 120–120). ESPACOBRANCO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiberg, M., Sircova, A., Wiberg, B., & Carelli, M. G. (2012). Operationalizing balanced time perspective in a Swedish sample. The International Journal of Educational and Psychological Assessment, 12(1), 95–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Worrell, F. C., & Zeno, R. M. (2007). The reliability and validity of Zimbardo time perspective inventory scores in academically talented adolescents. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 67(3), 487–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, J. W., Howell, R. T., & Stolarski, M. (2013). Comparing three methods to measure a balanced time perspective: The relationship between a balanced time perspective and subjective well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 14(1), 169–184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimbardo, P. G., & Boyd, J. N. (1999). Putting time in perspective: A valid, reliable individual-differences metric. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 1271–1288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimbardo, P. G., & Boyd, J. N. (2008). The time paradox: The new psychology of time that will change your life. New York, NY: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Åström, E., Wiberg, B., Sircova, A., Wiberg, M., & Carelli, M. G. (2014). Insights into features of anxiety through multiple aspects of psychological time. Journal of Integrative Psychology and Therapeutics, 2(1), 3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

    Britt Wiberg & Maria G. Carelli

  2. Time Perspective Network, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Anna Sircova

  3. Department of Statistics, USBE, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

    Marie Wiberg

Authors
  1. Britt Wiberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anna Sircova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Marie Wiberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Maria G. Carelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Psychology, University of Niš, Niš, Serbia

    Aleksandra Kostić

  2. Department of Behavioural Sciences and ANSA McAL Psychological Research Centre, Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago

    Derek Chadee

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Wiberg, B., Sircova, A., Wiberg, M., Carelli, M.G. (2017). Balanced Time Perspective: Developing Empirical Profile and Exploring Its Stability over Time. In: Kostić, A., Chadee, D. (eds) Time Perspective. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60191-9_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation