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Happiness, time consciousness, and subjective life expectancy
1Department of Psychology, University of North Alabama, Florence 35632-0001.
Perceptual and Motor Skills
|April 1, 1992
Summary
Men overestimate their lifespan, while happier women perceive longer lives and feel they have more time left. Both genders become more time-conscious with age.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Gerontology
- Sociology
Background:
- Understanding subjective perceptions of lifespan and happiness is crucial in psychological and sociological research.
- Age and gender influence how individuals perceive their remaining years and time consciousness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between sex, age, happiness, time consciousness, and subjective life expectancy.
- To compare men's and women's estimations of their remaining lifespan against actuarial data.
Main Methods:
- Survey data collected from 84 men and 141 women at a university.
- Participants reported sex, age, happiness levels, time consciousness, and estimated remaining years of life.
Main Results:
- Men significantly overestimated their subjective life span compared to actuarial data.
- Happier women reported younger age, greater subjective life expectancies, and felt they had lived a smaller percentage of their lives.
- Both older men and older women exhibited higher levels of time consciousness.
Conclusions:
- Subjective life span estimation differs between sexes, with men overestimating more significantly.
- Happiness is linked to perceptions of a longer life and more time remaining, particularly in women.
- Time consciousness increases with age across both sexes, suggesting a heightened awareness of life's finitude.