Putting time in perspective: How and why construal level buffers the relationship between wait time and aggressive tendencies

Abstract

Summary We spend a substantial part of our daily life waiting, and unfortunately, wait time can fuel aggressive tendencies. Our study examines the relationship between wait time, perceived wait time, and aggressive tendencies from a construal level perspective. In Study 1, we found that the higher the construal level, the stronger the relationship between actual and perceived wait time and the stronger relationship between perceived wait time and aggressive tendencies. In Study 2, we manipulated construal level and found that power explains the moderating impact of construal on the wait—aggressive tendencies relationships. Results demonstrate the role of construal in explaining both perceived wait time and aggressive responses to long wait times, suggesting that mental construal influences both the psychological experience of time and the subsequent reaction to that experience. Overall, these results contribute to research on subjective time perspective by enhancing the knowledge and understanding of the determinants and effects of perceived wait time.

New perspectives on time perspective and temporal focus

“…Finally, Efrat‐Treister, Daniels, and Robinson () investigate how temporal construal impacts employee perceptions of waiting as well as aggressive response tendencies following waiting. Here, time perspective is addressed by understanding temporal construal in its abstract (high construal) versus concrete (low construal) levels.…”

Exploring the usefulness of medical clowns in elevating satisfaction and reducing aggressive tendencies in pediatric and adult hospital wards

“…Other scholars suggested that the negative affectivity of health consumers or their families (caused by a variety of reasons) is directly related to aggressive tendencies in the hospital setting [ 63 , 64 ]. We define aggressive tendencies following [ 65 ] as the self-reported desire to act with aggression. We chose this focus since the desire to act with aggression is an important predictor of actual aggressive behavior [ 65 ], and as such, it is important to curtail this desire before it escalates into actual aggression.…”

“…We define aggressive tendencies following [ 65 ] as the self-reported desire to act with aggression. We chose this focus since the desire to act with aggression is an important predictor of actual aggressive behavior [ 65 ], and as such, it is important to curtail this desire before it escalates into actual aggression. Aggressive tendencies can be expressed in a variety of forms, from interpersonal conflict to bullying or even physical assault [ 66 ].…”

Exploring the Usefulness of Medical Clowns in Elevating Satisfaction and Reducing Aggressive Tendencies in Pediatric and Adult Hospital Wards 

“…Aggressive tendencies were de ned as the self-reported desire to act with aggression (65).The measure of aggressive tendencies was based on (72), focusing on four aggressive tendencies that t the context of the large variety of wards in which the medical clowns performed. Speci cally, we asked participants to evaluate the likelihood that in the near future someone in their ward will curse the medical staff's family, vandalize hospital property, bang on a table, or complain about medical staff.…”