Individual Differences in Self-Rated Impulsivity Modulate the Estimation of Time in a Real Waiting Situation

Abstract

In this study we investigated how individual differences regarding impulsivity and time perspective predict the experience of waiting during a time interval without distraction. Each participant (N = 82) filled out self-report questionnaires on impulsiveness (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale) and time perspective (Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory). Participants were individually shut into an empty room for exactly 7.5 minutes and afterwards asked to report their subjective impressions regarding the experience of time, self and affective reactions. Correlation analyses showed that being more relaxed and having a positive feeling was related to shorter duration estimates and a perceived faster passage of time. Individual traits of impulsivity, present-hedonistic and present-fatalistic time orientation were associated with relative overestimation of duration and a perceived slower passage of time; future orientation was related to an underestimation of duration and a perceived faster passage of time. Multiple regression models show that impulsivity alone predicts the variance related to time estimation of the waiting period. Multiple path analyses reveal that individuals who are more impulsive are less relaxed while waiting and accordingly overestimate duration and feel a slower passage of time. Negative affect and an impulsive present orientation are related to an overestimation of duration and the feeling of a slower passage of time while waiting.

Waiting, Thinking, and Feeling: Variations in the Perception of Time During Silence

“…The study by Jokic et al (2018) assessed the participating students' experience of an empty time interval of 7:30 min duration as part of a real waiting situation. Relations between the students' experience of time while waiting and facets of affective well-being, individual impulsivity traits, and time perspectives were of specific interest to us.…”

“…We conducted a variation of this investigation relying on the principle study design applied by Wilson et al (2014), who did not assess time in their study, although it is an essential experience related to waiting. The employed state inventories referred to the conscious dimensions of subjective time, space, and self (STSS), which have proven suitable for assessing longer time intervals, such as a real waiting-time situation (Jokic et al, 2018), a silence after Depth Relaxation Music Therapy (DRMT)/Hypnomusictherapy (HMT) (Pfeifer et al, 2016), and watching a dance performance (Deinzer et al, 2017). Two visual analog scales were used to assess relaxation and boredom, and the Self-Assessment-Manikin (SAM) (Bradley and Lang, 1994) scale was implemented to assess emotional reactions.…”

“Just Think”—Students Feel Significantly More Relaxed, Less Aroused, and in a Better Mood after a Period of Silence Alone in a Room

“…Jokic, Zakay, and Wittmann [9] added further insights to the topic of how people cope with being exposed to an empty time interval. In their study, 84 participants were asked to spend time alone in an empty room waiting until one of the scientists conducting the study arrived.…”

“…This was a variation of the principle study designed by Wilson et al [5], where people were asked to "think" while waiting. We added state inventories of the conscious dimensions of time, space, and self, which have been shown to be sensitive in a real waiting situation [9]. Time is an essential experience that, surprisingly, was not assessed in the study by Wilson et al [5].…”

Editorial to the Special Issue on Psychological and Biological Time: The Role of Personality

“…(3) Time awareness (TA) is defined as the subjective impression of time passing quickly or slowly. This is also associated with personality dimensions: for example, impulsive or boredom-prone individuals complain that time passes too slowly and, therefore, react prematurely (Jokic, Zakay & Wittmann, 2018). (4) Finally, circadian typology indicates individual circadian rhythms (CR) from a biological approach.…”