Abstract:

Time Perspective is a crucial psychological framework that allows individuals to classify, organize, and manage their life and social experiences, describing how individuals view their past, present, and future. Recent research suggests that achieving a balance between the past, present, and future time perspectives is essential for optimizing social adaptation, facilitating well-being, and promoting mental health. Thus, much attention has been paid to the relationships between balanced time perspective (BTP) and mental health. However, the theoretical framework and underlying mechanisms linking BTP to mental health remain unclear due to the lack of clarity in its concept and limited measurement methods. Our review aims to clarify the conceptual orientations of BTP and explore the underlying mechanisms between BTP and mental health.

The concept of BTP is developed based on time perspective research, specifically according to Zimbardo Time Perspective Theory. This theory suggests that time perspective is an individual’s adaptive process of external social and cultural environment. And different time perspectives may lead to various behavioral decisions and mental health outcomes. There are five common time perspectives, including Past Positive (viewing the past in a positive light), Past Negative (viewing the past in a negative attitude), Present Hedonistic (a preference for immediate gratification), Present Fatalistic (a helpless and fatalistic outlook of life), and Future (a tendency to plan for the future). All of these time perspectives are evidently associated with happiness-related variables. In contrast to a specific temporal bias, the idea of a balanced time perspective is proposed to optimize individuals’ well-being and mental health.

Based on the existing literature, this review first distinguished two conceptual orientations of BTP. One is the “time shift orientation” BTP, which is defined as the cognitive process or mental ability to effectively switch between different time perspectives based on situational demands. The other is “general healthy orientation” BTP, which combines high level of adaptive time perspectives (e.g., Past Positive, Future, and Present Hedonistic) with low levels of maladaptive time perspectives (e.g., Past Negative and Present Fatalistic), reflecting an overall positive outlook on subjective time. The former is a theoretical concept with limited research on measuring the process or capacity of switching between time perspectives. The latter is the dominant focus of current research, and the existing scales and methods of BTP are all designed to assess the general healthy orientation toward the past, the present, and the future.

Our review also proposed a dual-pathway theoretical framework to clarify the direct and indirect paths between BTP and mental health. The direct pathway emphasizes the direct effect of habitual temporal cognitive processes on mental health. The indirect pathway highlights the role of BTP in influencing adaptive behaviors, which in turn affect mental health. In terms of the time shift orientation BTP, higher BTP requires individuals to effectively switch between time perspectives. Such a switching capacity might help individuals to have greater psychological and social adaptation. Additionally, higher BTP enables individuals to better observe and evaluate environmental characteristics, thereby inhibiting maladaptive time perspectives and exhibiting adaptive time perspectives. This necessitates strong self-regulation abilities in individuals. Therefore, the self-regulation process, including self-control and flexible selection of emotional regulation strategies, may serve as underlying mechanisms linking time shift orientation BTP and mental health. Regarding the general healthy orientation, the higher the BTP is, the more likely individuals are to positively think about the past, experience the present, and anticipate the future, resulting in good mental health. For instance, recalling past positive experiences and anticipating positive future events can directly facilitate life satisfaction and positive emotions. Conversely, viewing the past and future from a negative perspective is easy to induce negative emotions. General healthy orientation BTP can also indirectly promote mental health through a range of adaptive behaviors. For example, individuals with high levels of adaptive time perspectives (e.g., Past Positive and Future) tend to have more adaptive behaviors such as planning, healthy eating, exercise, and environmental protection. On the contrary, individuals higher on Past Negative and Present Fatalistic are likely to exhibit problematic behaviors such as aggression and substance abuse. These behaviors can further promote or damage mental health. In addition, the dual-pathway model also discussed the potential moderating role of age and life environment between BTP and mental health. Future research should aim to clearly distinguish between these different conceptual orientations of BTP, focus on developing measurement methods for time shift orientation BTP, and deepen both theoretical and empirical exploration of BTP and mental health, particularly within the context of Chinese culture.

Key words: time perspective, balanced time perspective, mental health