Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

2014

Thesis Director

Ronan S. Bernas

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how time is subjectively experienced when one is being mindful or fully engaged in the present moment. Although attending to and being aware of the present moment is a defining feature of mindfulness (Brown & Ryan, 2003), there has been little research done concerning how time is experienced when being mindful. Thus, the present study examined the relationship between mindfulness and four different conceptions of the subjective experience of time: Time Perspective, Balanced Time Perspective, Temporal Focus, and Temporal Depth. One hundred and forty-two university students responded to scales measuring each student's attitude toward the past, present, and future (Time Perspective), ability to flexibly engage in the past, present, and future (Balanced Time Perspective), attention toward the past, present, and future (Temporal Focus), and distance traveled when imagining their past and future (Temporal Depth). The study results suggest that while being mindful is primarily about being focused in the present, it also involves having positive attitudes about and being flexibly engaged in the past, present, and future. Implications of these findings on theory and the treatment of temporal biases were discussed.

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