Time Perspective and Emotion Regulation as Predictors of Age-Related Subjective Passage of Time

Hardly any empirical work exists concerning the relationship between the intra-individually stable time perspective relating to the past, present, and future and the subjective speed of time passing in everyday life. Moreover, studies consistently show that the subjective passage of time over the period of the last ten years speeds up as we get older. Modulating variables influencing this phenomenon are still unknown. To investigate these two unresolved issues, we conducted an online survey with n = 423 participants ranging in age between 17 and 81 assessing trait time perspective of the past, present, and future, and relating these subscales with a battery of measures pertaining to the subjective passage of time. Moreover, the subjective passage of time as an age-dependent variable was probed in relationship to emotion awareness, appraisal and regulation. Results show how present hedonism is linked with having fewer routines in life and a faster passage of the last week; the past negative perspective is related to time pressure, time expansion and more routine; a pronounced future perspective is related to a general faster passage of time. Importantly, increased emotion regulation and a balanced time perspective are related to a slower passage of the last ten years. These novel findings are discussed within models of time perception and the time perspective

Increased Wakefulness as Measured by the WAKE-16 is Related to Mindfulness and Emotional Self-Regulation in Experienced Buddhist Meditators

The aim of the present study was to test and validate the German version of a new instrument for measuring “wakefulness”, defined as “an expansive, higher-functioning, and stable state of being in which a person’s vision of and relationship to the world are transformed, along with their subjective experience, their sense of identity and their conceptual outlook” (Taylor, 2017, p. 22). In order to test the construct validity of the new instrument (Inventory of Secular/Spiritual Wakefulness; WAKE-16), we performed a comparison between a group of expert meditators (n = 36) and demographically matched non-meditators (n = 36). Results showed significantly higher scores for the meditators on the WAKE-16, indicating construct validity of the new instrument. Meditators scored higher on the two mindfulness subscales of ‘presence’ and ‘acceptance,’ as well as on the SEE subscales of emotion regulation and body-related symbolization of emotions. Within the group of meditators, there were significant correlations between wakefulness and mindfulness (r = .614, p < .001), accepting one’s own emotions (r = .416, p = .012), and experiencing overwhelming emotions (r = -.424, p = .010). The only significant correlation in non-meditators was found between wakefulness and accepting one’s own emotions (r = .411, p = .008). The new instrument showed construct validity by discriminating between the two groups. Correlations between wakefulness and related psychological constructs indicate convergent validity. Future studies may attempt to increase discriminatory accuracy of the definition of wakefulness, as well as finding objective methods of measuring

Increased Wakefulness as Measured by the WAKE-16 is Related to Mindfulness and Emotional Self-Regulation in Experienced Buddhist Meditators

In order to test the construct validity of our new instrument (Inventory of Secular/Spiritual Wakefulness; WAKE-16; Kilrea et al. 2023), we performed a comparison between a group of expert meditators (n = 36) and demographically matched non-meditators (n = 36)

Meditation-Induced States, Vagal Tone, and Breathing Activity Are Related to Changes in Auditory Temporal Integration

This study is based on the relationship between meditation, the present moment, and psychophysiology. We employed the metronome task to operationalize the extension of the present moment. A pre-post longitudinal study was conducted. The performance in the metronome task was compared before and after the interventions (meditation, story). The aim was to assess whether physiological changes (heart, breathing) during meditation influence the temporal-integration (TI) of metronome beats. Mindfulness meditators either meditated (n = 41) or listened to a story (n = 43). The heart and breathing activity were recorded during the intervention and compared to a resting-state condition. By applying path analyses we found that meditation led to an increase of the duration of integration intervals at the slowest metronome frequency (inter-stimulus interval, ISI = 3 s). After meditation, the higher the heart-rate variability (i.e., the root mean square of successive differences, RMSSD), the longer the duration of integration intervals at the fastest frequency (ISI = 0.33 s). Moreover, the higher the breathing rate during meditation, the greater the integration of intervals at ISI = 1 s. These findings add evidence to meditation-induced changes on the TI of metronome beats and the concept of the embodiment of mental functioning