Is life going too fast? Exploring the unique and joint contributions of mindfulness, temperament, task load, and metacognitions about time.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has shown that mindfulness is associated with slower passage of time in everyday life, and with lower self-reported time pressure. This study investigates some of the potential mechanisms behind these relationships. METHODS: 318 participants submitted their responses to an online survey which collected data regarding passage of time judgments, time pressure, trait mindfulness, temperament, task load, and metacognitions about time. Using commonality and dominance analyses, we explored how these variables contributed, either alone or jointly, to predicting how fast (or slow) time seems to pass for participants, or how pressed for time they felt. RESULTS: Mindfulness and temperament had some overlaps in their ability to predict passage of time judgments and time pressure for durations at the month and 2-month scales. The temperamental trait of extraversion/surgency, as well as the Non-judging and Non-reacting facets of mindfulness were among the best predictors of passage of time judgments and time pressure. Attention-related variables were mainly related to time perception via their involvement in joint effects with other variables. Results also suggested that metacognitions about time interacted with other variables in predicting passage of time judgments, but only at the month scale. Finally, among all the variables included in this study, task load had the highest degree of involvement in predictions of self-reported time pressure at the week and month scales, but it contributed relatively little to predicting passage of time judgments. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that mindfulness relates to passage of time through its involvement in inferential processes. The data also shows how different factors are related to PoTJ at different time scales. Finally, results suggest the existence of both similarities and differences in how passage of time and time pressure relate to the other included variables.

Mindfulness and time perception: A systematic integrative review.

Several recent studies have explored the relationships between mindfulness and time perception, an area of research that has become increasingly popular in the last 10-15 years. In this article, we present a systematic integrative review of the evidence on this subject. We also integrate the field's findings into a conceptual framework which considers the multifaceted nature of both mindfulness, and time perception research. To identify the relevant literature, we searched the following databases using relevant keywords: PsycINFO; Medline; EBSCO Host Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection; and Web of Science. These searches were last performed on the 4th of May 2022, and additional hand searches were also conducted. To be included, articles had to be in English and contain original data about the potential relationship(s) between mindfulness and time perception. Articles which did not present usable data about the relationship(s) between the variables of interest were excluded. In total, 47 research articles were included in the review (combined sample size of ∼5800 participants). Risks of bias in the selected studies were evaluated using two separate assessment tools designed for this purpose. Through an integrative narrative synthesis, this article reviews how mindfulness may relate to time perception for various reference frames, and for various time perception measures and methods. It also provides new insights by exploring how a wide range of findings can be integrated into a coherent whole, in light of some relevant time perception models and mindfulness theories. Altogether, the reviewed data suggest the existence of complex and multifaceted relationships between mindfulness and time perception, highlighting the importance of considering many factors when planning research or interpreting data in this field. Limitations of the current review include the scarceness of data for certain categories of findings, and the relatively low prevalence of studies with a randomized controlled design in the source literature. This research was partly funded by a grant from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Assessment of fit of the time-varying dynamic partial credit model using the posterior predictive model checking method.

Several new models based on item response theory have recently been suggested to analyse intensive longitudinal data. One of these new models is the time-varying dynamic partial credit model (TV-DPCM; Castro-Alvarez et al., Multivariate Behavioral Research, 2023, 1), which is a combination of the partial credit model and the time-varying autoregressive model. The model allows the study of the psychometric properties of the items and the modelling of nonlinear trends at the latent state level. However, there is a severe lack of tools to assess the fit of the TV-DPCM. In this paper, we propose and develop several test statistics and discrepancy measures based on the posterior predictive model checking (PPMC) method (PPMC; Rubin, The Annals of Statistics, 1984, 12, 1151) to assess the fit of the TV-DPCM. Simulated and empirical data are used to study the performance of and illustrate the effectiveness of the PPMC method.

The Role of Psychological Time in Late Socialization. A SEM Analysis.

Background: Psychological time, a subjective reflection of the objective passage of time, has age specific characteristics and can be considered a resource for adaptation to difficult life situations (Pultz, & Hviid, 2016). We assume that the components of psychological time are also a resource for adaptation to retirement, smoothing out undesirable social and biological changes in retirees' lives. Objective: This study explores this hypothesis by identifying the contribution of the cognitive component of psychological time - temporal focus and subjective age - to the effectiveness of late socialization. Design: The developed theoretical model was verified by the SEM method on the sample of retirees from Chelyabinsk, Russia (N = 291). To collect the empirical data we used the Temporal Focus Scale (Shipp et al., 2009), the Age of Me (Barak, 2009), the Life Satisfaction Scale (Diener & Lucas, 1999), the Income Satisfaction Scale (Deyneka, 2000), and questionnaire variables. Results: Temporal focus and subjective age mediated the influence of biological and social variables on the retirees' subjective well-being. A younger subjective age smoothed the contribution of educational level, working status, and disability, whilst the current and future focuses mediated the association between religiosity and various parameters of satisfaction. Conclusion: The results of the study broaden the understanding of psychological time in the late socialization process. A pronounced focus on the present, along with younger subjective age, can be seen as psychological resources, allowing for better adaptation to the social status of a retiree; that is, increasing the effectiveness of late socialization.

Characteristics of psychological time in patients with depression and potential intervention strategies.

Psychological time reveals information about an individual's psychological state and psychopathological traits and, thus, has become a new perspective through which the occurrence and development of depression can be examined. Psychological time includes time perception, time perspective, circadian rhythms, and passage of time. Patients with depression are characterized by inaccurate time interval estimation, habitual negative thoughts about the past and future, evening-type circadian rhythms, and slow passage of time. Habitual negative thoughts about the past and future and evening-type circadian rhythms influence the formation of depression, and poor time interval estimation and slow passage of time may result from depression. Further study is needed accurately exploring psychological time and influencing factors in patients with depression, and prospective cohort studies could further clarify this complex relationship. In addition, the study of psychological time has important implications for developing effective interventions to reduce depression.

Time Distortions: A Systematic Review of Cases Characteristic of Alice in Wonderland Syndrome.

Of the perceptual distortions characteristic of Alice in Wonderland syndrome, substantial alterations in the immediate experience of time are probably the least known and the most fascinating. We reviewed original case reports to examine the phenomenology and associated pathology of these time distortions in this syndrome. A systematic search in PubMed, Ovid Medline, and the historical literature yielded 59 publications that described 168 people experiencing time distortions, including 84 detailed individual case reports. We distinguished five different types of time distortion. The most common category comprises slow-motion and quick-motion phenomena. In 39% of all cases, time distortions were unimodal in nature, while in 61% there was additional involvement of the visual (49%), kinaesthetic (18%), and auditory modalities (14%). In all, 40% of all time distortions described were bimodal in nature and 19% trimodal, with 1% involving four modalities. Underlying neurological mechanisms are varied and may be triggered by intoxications, infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, CNS lesions, paroxysmal neurological disorders, and psychiatric disorders. Bizarre sensations of time alteration-such as time going backwards or moving in circles-were mostly associated with psychosis. Pathophysiologically, mainly occipital areas appear to be involved, although the temporal network is widely disseminated, with separate component timing mechanisms not always functioning synchronously, thus occasionally creating temporal mismatches within and across sensory modalities (desynchronization). Based on our findings, we propose a classification of time distortions and formulate implications for research and clinical practice.

Pandemic, Quarantine, and Psychological Time.

This article addresses the feeling of strangeness about the perception of time that many people with ordinary lifestyles experienced during the quarantine imposed to fight the presence of COVID-19. It describes different aspects of psychological time affected by the interruption of a normal routine and suggests some cognitive mechanisms, attention, and memory that might have been at play, leading to perceive time as being more or less long. The article also describes the critical role of anxiety and temporal uncertainty and how they may affect the functioning of an internal clock and reminds the reader that there are individual differences in time-related aspects of the personality that contribute to the variety of impressions about duration experienced during the quarantine.

One psychological second does not necessarily last 1000 ms.

The duration of the representation of 1 s was estimated with two methods: (a) the adjustments of the duration of a sound and (b) the production of 10 s with counts from 1 to 11. The estimations were not close to 1 s and varied considerably. Assuming that the representation of 1 s is close to 1000 ms could well be misleading.

Using Virtual Reality to Study Subjective Time in Crowded Versus Uncrowded Environments.

Human density in different locations influences time estimation. In this article, we report three experiments investigating whether research in virtual reality (VR) environments would replicate this earlier finding. In our first experiment, 35 participants wore head-mounted VR displays and watched two videos showing a cityscape and a countryside. While watching each video, participants were asked to provide their perceptions of 30 seconds of time passage. Perceived time in the cityscape condition was longer than in the countryside condition. In our second experiment, 43 participants wore head-mounted VR displays and watched two videos showing a crowded and uncrowded Ikebukuro station. While watching these videos, participants were asked to provide their perceptions of 60 seconds of time passage. Perceived time in the crowded condition was longer relative to the uncrowded condition. In our third experiment, 21 participants wore head-mounted displays and watched two videos showing a crowded and uncrowded nature park. While watching the videos, participants were asked to provide their perceptions of 60 seconds of time passage. These repeated findings in VR environments of longer time perception in crowded versus uncrowded conditions were similar to data reported by who examined how location and human density affected subjective time in the real world. We discussed the implications of the VR tool in subjective time research and how people perceive and use VR environments in daily life.

The Relationship Between Psychological Temporal Perspective and HIV/STI Risk Behaviors Among Male Sex Workers in Mexico City.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) face a disproportionate burden of HIV incidence and HIV prevalence, particularly young men who have sex with men. The aim of this article was to analyze the relation between a psychological temporal perspective and HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk behaviors among male sex workers (MSWs), a potentially highly present-oriented group of MSM. A total sample of 326 MSWs were included and responded to a validated psychological scale: the Zimbardo's Time Perspective Inventory; they also reported how frequently they engaged in protective behaviors against HIV and other STI risks behaviors, including condom use with casual and regular partners, as well as prior HIV testing. We adjusted structural equation models to analyze the relation between a psychological temporal perspective and HIV/STI risk behaviors. We found that orientation toward the past was correlated with decreased condom use with casual partners (ß = - 0.18; CI95% - 0.23, - 0.12). Future orientation was not associated with condom use with casual partners. Regarding condom use with regular partners, past and present orientation were related to lower likelihood of condom use (ß = - 0.23; CI95% - 0.29, - 0.17; ß = - 0.11; CI95% - 0.19, - 0.02), whereas future orientation increased the likelihood of condom use with regular partners (ß = 0.40; CI95% 0.31, 0.50). Time orientation (past, present, or future) did not predict the probability of having an HIV test. The design of HIV/STI prevention programs among vulnerable populations, such as MSM and MSWs, should consider specific time-frame mechanisms that can importantly affect sexual risk behavior decisions.

Psychological time as information: the case of boredom.

The flow of time is experienced by humans although the exact nature of time is not well understood. The importance of time in humans' life is not in dispute and is reflected by several dimensions like duration, which is best representing the naïve meaning of time. Psychological time serves several important functions which are essential for being able to act and survive in a dynamic environment. In the present paper we argue that psychological time in the form of sensing the pace of the flow of time provides important information to the executive system which control and monitor behavior. When information processing load is below an optimal level for a specific Individual a feeling of boredom is raised. Boredom is accompanied by a slowing of the felt pace of the flow of time. Boredom is a unique mental state which is linked with decreasing efficiency in cognitive and perceptual performance and is correlated with low job satisfaction and general well-being. As such, boredom poses a threat to normal functioning. We suggest that the felt slowing in the flow of time is a signal which, similarly to pain, is aimed at alerting the executive system that resources should be recruited in order to cope with the hazardous state.

Slowing down the clock: a review of experimental studies investigating psychological time dilation.

A review of 24 experiments investigated the factors that produce a subjective time dilation. The aim of this review was to investigate the magnitude of the obtained time dilation. The mean time duration judgment ratio of subjective time to objective time for the selected studies was 1.31, SD = .24. The analyses revealed that experimental studies investigating subjective time dilation tend to obtain small to moderate time dilation and that several factors can be manipulated in order to make a specific time interval appear longer than it is. Highlighting the factors that lead to a subjective time dilation has both research implications, by pointing to the underlying cognitive mechanisms of time perception, and practical implications, by indicating the factors that can be manipulated in order to control how we perceive time.