Bad Healthy State Compress Temporal Extension Both in Past and Future Orientations.

Jia Zhou,Guangyu Jiang,Xingping Han,Jingjing Song,Juan Fan,Pan Feng,Yong Zheng

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01703

Jia Zhou, Guangyu Jiang + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01703

Copy DOI

Abstract

We examined how different health states and cancer-related depression influence time perception in temporal extension (TE) regarding the past and the future over individuals’ entire lives. We used the magnitude estimation method to investigate TE (past and future) and long duration (20 years), and directly measured patients with cancer and their subjective feelings about their lives. In Experiment 1, we investigated whether there were differences in perceptions of TE between patients with cancer (n = 144) compared to a healthy control group (n = 208). Results indicated that the patients with cancer group evaluated longer TE in healthy states (imagination condition) than in unhealthy states (objectivity condition), and the healthy control group evaluated longer TE in healthy states (objectivity condition) than in unhealthy states (imagination condition). Moreover, the patients with cancer group evaluated longer past-oriented TE than future-oriented TE, whereas the healthy control group evaluated longer future-oriented TE than past-oriented TE. Experiment 2 was conducted to further examine the unexplained findings of Experiment 1. Results indicated that because of the impact of depression on the cancer group, their embodied time system slowed down, and explicit behavior indicated an over-evaluation of time, resulting in group differences. In conclusion, TE could be affected by different health states. Moreover, healthy and unhealthy states may be more associated with future and past orientation, respectively. Lastly, individuals’ time perception can be influenced by depression.

Highlights

Cancer is a life-threatening disease, and the association between cancer and death is strong (Cox et al, 2007)
In patients with cancer, when the patients imagined that their illness was completely cured, their future temporal extension (TE) became longer than in the objective health status (OHS) condition
The magnitude estimation method allowed us to investigate TE and LD; it enabled people to directly project their subjective feelings of long periods rather than indirect responses to questionnaires

Summary

Introduction

Cancer is a life-threatening disease, and the association between cancer and death is strong (Cox et al, 2007). A cancer diagnosis implies a sudden and direct confrontation with the possibility of death that compels them to cope with loss of control of their lives, depression, hopelessness, and other negative experiences. When faced with the distress of cancer, patients’ embodied time system changes. The embodied time system is a crucial inner part of time perception, involving a personal, subjective, and internal process (Lovgren and Hamberg, 2010). Time perception can be defined as the orientation of the individual toward the past, present, and future, in view of a continuously changing present (Sannen, 1998)

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion