Exploring past and future fluency of temporal landmarks under reduced agency

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Sociology

Background:

• Significant life events are often emotionally charged, enhancing autobiographical memory.
• Understanding the interplay between time perception, emotionality, and wellbeing is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the relationship between anticipation, temporal landmarks, subjective time passage, and wellbeing.
• To investigate how individuals engage in 'time work' during periods of restricted agency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Main Methods:

• A three-stage mixed-method study combining qualitative thematic analysis, AI-assisted coding, and quantitative analysis.
• Analysis of Past Fluency and Future Fluency data (n=73,244 events from 1,113 participants) from the Blursday Database.
• Examination of temporal horizons (One Week, One Month, One Year) and lockdown stringency effects.

Main Results:

• Participants reported more past temporal landmarks than future ones, but more future utilitarian activities.
• Significant sex differences were observed in activity and landmark fluency.
• Lockdown stringency and confinement perceptions correlated with temporal landmark and activity reporting.

Conclusions:

• Anticipatory behavior functions as 'time work,' allowing individuals to shape temporal experiences and agency.
• The study offers novel methods for analyzing temporal experiences and their link to wellbeing.
• Findings highlight adaptive temporal strategies employed during the COVID-19 pandemic.