Cultural Influences on Intertemporal Reasoning: An Annotated Bibliography

Abstract

Abstract : This bibliography was produced as part of an Office of Naval Research project titled Cultural Influences on Intertemporal Reasoning. The project is intended to provide a platform of knowledge based on existing research that will improve our ability to field useful and meaningful decision support in cultures where the capacity for such support is either limited or nonexistent, with a focus on three non-Western cultures: Arab, Pashtun, and Somali culture. The focus of the project is on intertemporal reasoning and how the focal cultures differ in this respect from the West. What is meant by intertemporal reasoning? All cultures deal with time. How they understand it is a defining cultural characteristic. We use the term intertemporal reasoning to mean the psychosocial and cultural processes engaged when people are called upon to either integrate past experiences and events (history) or project forward to desired or undesired future states. Intertemporal reasoning can refer to how a culture deals with time itself as a phenomenon, or how events that either take place or have taken place are recalled, represented, and organized in terms of an explanation or history of the culture. Intertemporal reasoning includes how cultures ascribe meaning to events, including the meaning of the past and present in terms of the future. Intertemporality, as a cultural characteristic, describes differences between cultures that have importance for understanding social processes, such as decision making and planning, including the relationship between time and preferences, and the effects of time on cognitive processes. The bibliography is a collection of annotated entries that each of the three project researchers developed as part of their particular examination of the literature. Emphasis is on Arab culture, owing to the relative availability of resources published in English. Intended readers include those with an interest in this highly-focused aspect of non-Western cultures.