Even though my love in psychology is all about the neurosciences, I confess to being a sucker for personality tests. I like taking them. So of course when I heard that Phil Zimbardo has a new measure, the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), I HAD to drop what I was doing and check it out.
In this chart, Zimbardo tells you what the averages are for the people who had taken the test previously–these are all set at 50%. So the average person taking the test has a 3.0 on “Past Negative.” Then Zimbardo placed the red dots in what he thought were “ideal” places to be, so that you can work on improving your time perspective. I’m not sure how he arrived at these ideals, so I’m going to have to get the book and check this out.
My scores? No surprises there.
Past-negative: 1.80 (ooh, close to the bottom 2% of the population–guess I had a happy childhood or have dealt with the unhappy parts)
Past-positive: 4.11 (upper 2% this time–I feel very blessed to have had the life I’ve enjoyed)
Present-hedonistic: 2.07 (in the lower 15% or so–I’ve never ever had the luxury to stop working hard, nor would I want that)
Present-fatalistic: 1.22 (somewhere between the bottom 2-16%–I’ve always had a VERY strong internal locus of control. I’ve always sort of figured that if I want something to happen, I have to take the lead in making it happen)
Future: 4.77 (back up in the upper 2%–I’m starting to feel atypical here….)
Zimbardo provides several personality types based on these data. It looks to me like the closest one to my type is the Future-Orientated Person. By and large, there is a lot of good stuff here–good grades (check, got those), responsibility (oh, off the chart on that one!), no physical risks (sorry, Kristin, I won’t be joining you on those skydiving trips any time soon). The bad stuff is a lack of sponteneity and enjoying the moment (nobody would ever describe me as a “party animal”–My dad’s favorite saying was always “there’s this little thing called responsibility.”) Mental health challenges for this type are anxiety (check), manic behavior (only when I lose track of how much coffee I’ve consumed), workaholism (check), and failures to achieve an ideal state (prevented by the loving intervention of Mr. F and my daughters).
As enjoyable as this is for us testaholics, I think the “time perspectives” really boil down to Big 5 categories again–openness to experience and conscientiousness for starters–along with a dose of internal-external locus of control. Still, if you enjoy tests like I do, check it out. Zimbardo is always a good read, no matter what the topic.
4 Comments
steelersfan086 · April 12, 2009 at 10:53 am
I am completely into the personality tests as well, so I was excited to click the link and take the survey. Here were my results:
Time Perspective
Past-negative 3.10
Past-positive 3.78
Present-hedonistic 2.93
Present-fatalistic 2.44
Future 4.38
I love to plan things out, and I usually have a list of things to do on more stressful days. My planner is completely full of little reminders and homework assignments, birthdays, and appointments. However, at the same time, as much as I believe in creating your own fate and controlling your own situation, I do believe that certain things are derived from fate because there are some things in my life that just cannot be explained any other way. I look forward to the future with excitement (and a little anxiety of course) and I have trouble making decisions in the present. I do not like to disappoint people and do something that others may not want to do. I thoroughly enjoyed this survey and it has made me think about my tastes and characteristics. I must say, personality tests are intriguing and somewhat addicting!
jacquelynlaing · April 12, 2009 at 8:01 pm
My results were:
Past-negative 2.90
Past-positive 4.11
Present-hedonistic 3.87
Present-fatalistic 2.00
Future 3.92
I thought my results were kind of interesting! The two categories I scored highest in seemed to be kind of oxymoronic. On one hand, I am highly influenced by “present-hedonistic” tendencies–which means I am playful, impulsive, and not really a planner. On the other hand, I scored slightly higher in the “future” oriented part of the test–which means I am an intense planner! At first I was really puzzled by my results, but then it made sense. In my social life, I tend to be more hedonistic. I prefer going with the flow rather than making really concrete plans. Sometimes my friends even get annoyed with me because I can never really commit to something. I mean, I don’t want to commit to something if something else better might come along in the mean time that would be more fun, right?! However, in school and at my job, I take things very seriously, and try my hardest to plan things out well. I enjoy working, and accomplishing goals. In fact, if I do not have a goal to work towards I am not content.
helenasetiawan · April 14, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Past-negative 3.30
Past-positive 3.56
Present-hedonistic 3.47
Present-fatalistic 3.11
Future 3.23
It was interesting to see my results because they were all in the 3’s and were in the 50%. There was a question on the survey that asked if I made a list before carrying out a “project” and I clicked True because I need to have a physical thing in front of me that will help guide me in completing the “project”. The highest score I received was for Present-hedonistic and i feel that is true because I am not too happy with the past compared to the present. My scoring for the future is 3.23 and that is something that I am looking forward towards and I hope that the number will grow.
jeffcurry · May 11, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Past-negative 4.20
Past-positive 2.89
Present-hedonistic 2.87
Present-fatalistic 2.67
Future 2.69
According to these results, I feel extremely negative about my past compared to others and I don’t see too many positive things in my past either. I also score much higher on present-fatalistic then most and much lower on present-hedonistic. My future is also low at 2.69. Looking at these scores really make me feel depressed… or at least that’s how I should feel. When I think about my life I don’t feel as though the scores should be this way, but when presented with questions I guess the real answers come out. Either way I’m happy to be the way I am, and I feel satisfied with the way my life has gone so far and I feel I can improve it even more.
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