Limited time perspective increases the value of calm.

Abstract

Previous findings indirectly suggest that the more people perceive their time in life as limited, the more they value calm. No study, however, has directly tested this hypothesis. To this end, using a combination of survey, experience sampling, and experimental methods, we examined the relationship between future time perspective and the affective states that people ideally want to feel (i.e., their "ideal affect"). In Study 1, the more people reported a limited time perspective, the more they wanted to feel calm and experience other low-arousal positive states. In Study 2, participants were randomly assigned to a limited time or an expanded time condition. Participants in the limited time condition reported valuing calm and other low arousal positive states more than those in the expanded time condition. We discuss the implications of these findings for broadening our understanding of the factors that shape how people ideally want to feel, and their consequences for decision making.

The Relationship Between Future Time Perspective and Self-Esteem: A Cross-Cultural Study of Chinese and American College Students

“…Second, American culture emphasizes individualism (Earley, 1989; Forbes et al, 2009; Jiang et al, 2016), which focuses on the autonomy of individuals. Undergraduates need to face the issue of employment after graduation.…”

“…On the one hand, according to research in cultural psychology, American culture emphasizes individualism, freedom, and thinking about the future from one’s own perspective. However, Chinese culture emphasizes collectivism, relationship orientation, and thinking about the future from the perspective of one’s relationship network (Earley, 1989; Forbes et al, 2009; Jiang et al, 2016). Cultural differences may therefore affect the way that individuals think about the future.…”

Ideal affect in daily life: implications for affective experience, health, and social behavior

“…For instance, we informally observed significant increases in mean levels of ideal LAP among European Americans after the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, and more recently, since increased perceptions of terrorist threats in the United States. Because perceiving one’s life as limited in time increases the valuation of calm [51], it is likely that when threatening events occur, people consider the possibility of death and value LAP more. In future work, it would be important to examine whether ideal affect induced by current events drives behavior as much as ideal affect shaped by cultural factors.…”

Future time perspective and affect in daily life across adulthood and old age: Findings from two micro‐longitudinal studies

“…Second, available experimental and micro‐longitudinal work provides preliminary support for the assumption of short‐term malleability and variability of FTP. For example, experimental work has shown that FTP can be manipulated in the short‐term by asking participants to imagine a situation that limited or expanded the perceptions of the future (Jiang, Fung, Sims, Tsai, & Zhang, 2016). Therefore, experimental work has demonstrated that people can show short‐term fluctuations on FTP even as a result of seemingly modest manipulations.…”