Abstract

In this research, it was proposed that learning more about different ways of construing time and personality would be useful for clinical psychology, for instance, as another dimension to consider in the therapeutic alliance, in therapist-client personality matching, and in better understanding client problems related to time. The primary focus of the research was to examine whether there is an association between personality---psychological type as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ---and an affinity for one of several ways of construing time. The ways of construing time were based on Stephen Pepper's worldview theory. A secondary focus of the research was to explore Pepper's theory based on his observation about two polarities underlying the four main worldviews, because the psychology research does not emphasize this aspect of Pepper's theory. ;A questionnaire, the Temporal Worldview Questionnaire , was developed to reflect temporal aspects of formist, mechanist, contextualist, and organicist worldviews. A second Pepper-based scale, the World View Scale , was also used in order to assess the validity of the TWQ and to further test the hypotheses. ;The central thesis was as follows: Psychological type is associated with an affinity for different temporal worldviews. These affinities will be associated with both the dichotomous polarities and the four individual worldviews. Eight main relationships were hypothesized. ;The design of the study was correlational. The statistical method used to test the individual hypotheses, controlling for background variables, was hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Post hoc tests for self-reported punctuality and watch-wearing were also conducted. The sample, community college students was diverse in ethnicity, age, and type of major. ;All eight hypotheses were supported using the TWQ, and two were supported using the WVS . The relative weights of the correlations were consistent with primary temporal worldview affinities for the J-P type and secondary affinities based on several factors. A discussion of the relevance of temporal worldviews for consideration in clinical psychology is included