Time counts: future time perspective, goals, and social relationships.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional observational study by design analogy
PubMed 11931281 · doi:10.1037/0882-7974.17.1.125
What was done
Researchers tested predictions of socioemotional selectivity theory in 480 German adults aged 20 to 90 years. Participants completed two card-sort tasks assessing social partner preferences and goal priorities alongside questionnaires evaluating personal network size, composition, and social satisfaction and strain across varying perceived future time perspectives.
What was found
The abstract reports directional findings without providing numerical estimates or test statistics. Older participants viewed future time as more limited than younger participants. Perceiving time as limited was linked to prioritizing emotionally meaningful goals (e.g., generativity and emotion regulation), whereas an open-ended time perspective was associated with prioritizing instrumental or knowledge-related goals. Emotion-regulatory goal priority was linked to greater social satisfaction and less perceived strain among individuals with a limited future time perspective.
Why it matters
The paper demonstrates that subjective time horizons, rather than chronological age alone, relate systematically to social goal priorities and interpersonal satisfaction across adulthood.
Limits
The abstract provides no numerical data, effect sizes, or confidence intervals. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality or track individual trajectories over time. Findings are derived from a single German sample using self-report and card-sort methods.
Cited by
- supports As adults age, the quality of their social relationships can improve even as their overall social network size shrinks.