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Time Perspectives and Subjective Well-Being: A Dual-Pathway Framework

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Time Perspective Theory; Review, Research and Application

Abstract

In this chapter, we review the literature on the relations between time perspective and well-being. Time perspective is shown to be a stronger influence on individuals’ happiness than personality. The evidence we review suggests that time perspectives influence well-being through both direct and indirect pathways. The past time perspectives exert a direct influence on how people assess their satisfaction in life, while a future orientation impacts happiness through its influence on how people assess their prospects for the future. In contrast, the present time dimensions appear to impact people’s well-being indirectly, by influencing the behaviors that determine life circumstances, which in turn influence well-being. In addition, the future time dimension also exerts an indirect influence on well-being. People who are more future oriented are found to take actions that establish congenial life circumstances that are more likely to lead to a higher sense of well-being.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The emotional intelligence measures were Polish-language versions of Mayer and Salovey’s four-factor emotional intelligence model, one a criterion-based test and the other self-report.

  2. 2.

    Epel et al.’s (1999) study did find significant positive correlations between the Future time perspective and two measures of task-specific self-efficacy. The two specific self-efficacy measures concerned (a) finding a job (r = .22) and (b) finding housing (r = .24).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Kerry F. Cunningham & Ryan T. Howell

  2. Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Jia Wei Zhang

Authors
  1. Kerry F. Cunningham
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  2. Jia Wei Zhang
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  3. Ryan T. Howell
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kerry F. Cunningham .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland

    Maciej Stolarski

  2. Groupe de Recherche en Psychologie Sociale, Institut de Psychologie, University of Lyon, Lyon-Bron, France

    Nicolas Fieulaine

  3. GGZ Veenendaal, Veenendaal, The Netherlands

    Wessel van Beek

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Cunningham, K.F., Zhang, J.W., Howell, R.T. (2015). Time Perspectives and Subjective Well-Being: A Dual-Pathway Framework. In: Stolarski, M., Fieulaine, N., van Beek, W. (eds) Time Perspective Theory; Review, Research and Application. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07368-2_26

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