Participant Self-Selection Biases as a Function of Individual Differences in Time Perspective

Individual differences in time perspective were predicted to determine when students sign-up for studies and how faithfully they meet the time obligations of research. As predicted, future oriented students initiated and completed their research participation sooner than did present oriented students, and females signed up sooner than did males. The additive effects of time perspective and gender strongly predicted sign-ups, with female futures signing up earliest and male presents signing up latest (Study 1). Time perspective styles also predicted participation in longitudinal research. Present-oriented students met time commitments of a multi-session diary study less reliably than did future-oriented students (Study 2). These results have implications for both research design and for daily coping.

[1]  J. W. Gastorf,et al.  Time urgency of the type A behavior pattern. , 1980, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[2]  R. Kastenbaum.  The dimensions of future time perspective, an experimental analysis. , 1961, The Journal of general psychology.

[3]  R. Rosenthal,et al.  The volunteer subject revisited , 1976 .

[4]  R. Cialdini,et al.  Preference for Consistency: The Development of a Valid Measure and the Discovery of Surprising Behavioral Implications , 1995 .

[5]  H. Lamm,et al.  Sex and social class as determinants of future orientation (time perspective) in adolescents , 1976 .

[6]  E. Donnerstein,et al.  Some implications for psychological research of early versus late term participation by college subjects , 1974 .

[7]  Sandra D. Wilson,et al.  Some differences among students volunteering as research subjects , 1981 .

[8]  G. Leventhal,et al.  Self-interest and the maintenance of equity. , 1970 .

[9]  J. P. Morgan,et al.  Design and Analysis: A Researcher's Handbook , 2005, Technometrics.

[10]  R. Baumeister,et al.  Suicide as escape from self. , 1990, Psychological review.

[11]  H. Cooper,et al.  The desirability of control , 1979 .

[12]  P. Zimbardo,et al.  Who's Smoking, Drinking, and Using Drugs? Time Perspective as a Predictor of Substance Use , 1999 .

[13]  Harry L. Hom,et al.  A Methodological Note , 1987, Police Visibility.

[14]  R. Levine.  A geography of time: The temporal misadventures of a social psychologist, or how every culture keeps time just a little bit differently. , 1997 .

[15]  J. Nuttin,et al.  Future Time Perspective and Motivation: Theory and Research Method , 1984 .

[16]  S. Read,et al.  Present versus future time perspective and HIV risk among heterosexual college students. , 1996, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.

[17]  M. Strube.  Time Urgency and Type a Behavior , 1982 .

[18]  J. Nurmi.  Age, sex, social class, and quality of family interaction as determinants of adolescents' future orientation: a developmental task interpretation. , 1987, Adolescence.

[19]  D. Boninger,et al.  The consideration of future consequences: Weighing immediate and distant outcomes of behavior. , 1994 .

[20]  G. Moskowitz,et al.  Individual Differences In Experiment Participation: Structure, Autonomy, and the Time of the Semeste , 1995 .

[21]  H. Lamm,et al.  An Analysis of Future Orientation and Some of its Social Determinants , 1975 .

[22]  B. Hennessey.  The Social Psychology of Creativity , 2003, Encyclopedia of Creativity, Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

[23]  K. Deaux,et al.  Individual Differences in Justice Behavior , 1982 .

[24]  R. Rosenthal,et al.  The Volunteer Subject , 1965 .

[25]  H. Cooper,et al.  Do Students with Different Characteristics Take Part in Psychology Experiments at Different Times of the Semester , 1991 .

[26]  J. Nurmi.  How do adolescents see their future? A review of the development of future orientation and planning , 1991 .

[27]  H. B. English.  Resolving social conflicts. , 1949 .

[28]  M. Ross,et al.  The motivational impact of temporal focus: thinking about the future and the past. , 1996, Annual review of psychology.

[29]  R. Strahan.  Time urgency, type A behavior, and effect strength. , 1981, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[30]  S. Glucksberg,et al.  Understanding Metaphorical Comparisons: Beyond Similarity. , 1990 .

[31]  Robert Rosenthal,et al.  The Volunteer Subject , 1976 .

[32]  K. Lewin.  Field theory in social science , 1951 .

[33]  P. Zimbardo,et al.  Putting Time in Perspective: A Valid, Reliable Individual-Differences Metric , 1999 .

[34]  J E TEAHAN,et al.  Future time perspective, optimism, and academic achievement. , 1958, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[35]  S. Blatt,et al.  Punctual and procrastinating students: a study of temporal parameters. , 1967, Journal of consulting psychology.

[36]  Steven L. Neuberg,et al.  Personal Need for Structure: Individual Differences in the Desire for Simple Structure , 1993 .

[37]  P. Zimbardo,et al.  Present time perspective as a predictor of risky driving , 1997 .

[38]  A. Bandura,et al.  Escaping Homelessness: The Influences of Self-Efficacy and Time Perspective on Coping With Homelessness1 , 1999 .

[39]  B. Fredrickson,et al.  Response styles and the duration of episodes of depressed mood. , 1993, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[40]  Robert Rosenthal,et al.  The Volunteer Subject , 1965 .

[41]  J. Nuttin,et al.  The future time perspective in human motivation and learning , 1964 .