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The Neglected Dimension of Temporality in Social Psychology.
... In reconstructing his or her life history, the informant connects and relates events, actions, and experiences with other events, actions, and experiences according to substantive and temporal patterns. These patterns do not follow the linear sequence of objective time but rather conform to a perspectivist time model of subjective time (Rosenthal 1993, p. 62;Flaherty 1991). The order that can be discovered in a life story is brought about by the world experiencing life. ...
... Thus, Aborigines are able to develop elaborated linear time-consciousness because they possess left hemispheres, and Euro-Australians are able to develop elaborated patterned-cyclical time-consciousness because they possess right hemispheres. Flaherty (1987) has pointed out that temporality has been a neglected topic in social psychology. The ,present conceptualization of the linearkyclical polarity is an effort to develop the social psychology of time. ...
It is argued that autobiographical texts, such as life-historical interviews, provide the richest possible source of information about a person's temporality and a culture's historical past. It is proposed that time-consciousness can be inferred from such texts. To this end, ethnographic and other studies of Australian Aboriginal time-consciousness were used to construct a seven-part model of patterned-cyclical time-consciousness. Turning these seven attributes of patterned-cyclical time-consciousness into their opposites yields seven features of one-dimensional, ordinary-linear time-consciousness, thereby establishing a structured temporal polarity. A lexical-level, content-analytic methodology, Neurocognitive Hierarchical Categorization Analysis (NHCA), is introduced, in which folk-concepts of time from Roget's International Thesaurus were used to construct wordlist indicators for 9 of the 14 definitional components. Then, using NHCA for a comparative analysis of texts consisting of life-historical interviews, earlier results of an empirical study were briefly re-presented. Australian Aborigines, compared to Euro-Australian controls, used a significantly smaller proportion of words for an index of ordinary-linear time but a higher proportion of words for an index of patterned-cyclical time, indicating a time-consciousness that is primarily patterned-cyclical rather than linear. Females were less linear and more patterned-cyclical than males in both cultures. These cross-cultural results contribute predictive validity to the proposed polarity of time-consciousness. Implications for the culture-and-cognition paradox and its resolution in dual-brain theory are addressed.
... The Mead theory of the past has received some attention in the discipline of sociology (Adam, 1990;Bergmann, 1992;Emirbayer and Mische, 1998;Flaherty, 1987;Flaherty and Fine, 2001;Luckmann, 1983;Urry, 1996). Of particular interest is an article by sociologists Maines et al. (1983) that proposes a four-part model to amplify the Mead theory of the past, as it applies broadly to human behaviour. ...
Purpose ‐ The purpose of this paper is to explore the mechanisms of consumer behaviour relating to corporate heritage brands. The aim is to clarify the internal logic of the brand heritage concept, and to build on the extant literature to provide a solid foundation for further scholarship regarding corporate heritage brands. Design/methodology/approach ‐ This conceptual paper adapts a theory about the role of the past in human behaviour, which was first developed by the pioneering sociologist George Herbert Mead, to the realm of consumer behaviour and heritage brands. The authors illustrate several principles in practice and develop a framework based on a taxonomy of heritage effects. The analysis offers clarification about the relationship of this framework to a variety of historically-related topics in prior literature, including authenticity and nostalgia. Findings ‐ This paper explains why and how corporate heritage brands appeal to consumers. The authors suggest that brand heritage encourages the engagement of consumers with the history of the brand, or the engagement of consumers with history through the brand. The former is operative in defining the identity of the brand alone, while the latter is also operative in defining the identity of the consumer. Practical implications ‐ Executives and consultants may use the framework to recognise and classify different types of heritage phenomena, and thereby develop more effective corporate communications for older companies. Originality/value ‐ This is the first time that the Mead theory has been applied to corporate heritage brands.
... The broader literature around the sociology of time provides concepts and ways in which to extend the study of the experience of time. The sociology of time springs from philosophy, using a phenomenological approach which emphasizes process and attunes the researcher to experience (Denzin 1985;Flaherty 1987;Glaser and Strauss 1968;Gurvitch 1964;Heidegger [1927Heidegger [ ] 1996Mead, 1929Mead, , 1932. Time is, essentially, a product of experience (Mead 1982), an awareness of change (Denzin 1982). ...
The sociology of work is particularly poised to study the meaning of time within institutions and organizations at its most sociological manifestation – the point where groups of people come together to accomplish joint goals. Previous work has offered useful concepts to help us understand temporality and tempography, home and work balance, temporal practices and mindsets towards time. Most of this work, however, which directly or peripherally treats time in the workplace, has focussed on the work–life balance. The actual temporal experiences of workers, however, are relatively absent in this literature. In this review article, I outline previous contributions from sociologists of work and offer ways in which work from the broader literature on the sociology of time can enhance this field. I address how future research should focus on how “time work” is accomplished in workplaces and on issues of class and gender.
... Perhaps a resolution can to be found in the reconciliation of the phenomenological notions of Heidegger (see Gibbs, 1995) with the notions of social extension of self through the consumption of goods (Belk, 1988)). Indeed in social theory such a proposal has been advocated by Malhotra (1987) and Flaherty (1987) in an attempt to integrate the Hiedeggerian perspective with the social structuralism of Mead (1952). The marketing challenge is to profitably exploit a necessarily anarchical situation. ...
Time as a dependent (temporal patterning or allocation) or independent (temporal context) variable in the study of marketing problems has attracted a range of researchers who use a variety of paradigms. Common to the majority of approaches is the notion of an abstract, absolute, linear, irreversible, monotonic, homogeneous and divisible structure of time, into which consumer behaviour is set. In particular, current consumer models pay little attention to the phenomenological experience of both time and temporality. The perceived and experienced duration over which events can occur draws attention to notions of time beyond normal temporal horizons. This is illustrated through the example of certain financial service products where the expansion of everyday time horizons is required to understand the total consumption act. It is proposed that an understanding of the consumption act requires an insight into the consumer's own temporality and that embedded in the product or service being consumed. Further, there needs to be harmony between these temporalities to optimise the utility to be gained from the transaction.
It is argued that autobiographical texts, such as life-historical interviews, provide the richest possible source of information about a person's temporality and a culture's historical past. It is proposed that lime-consciousness can be inferred from such texts. To this end, ethnographic and other studies of Australian Aboriginal time-consciousness were used to construct a seven-part model of patterned-cyclical time-consciousness. Turning these seven attributes of patterned-cyclical time-consciousness into their opposites yields seven features of one-dimensional, ordinary-linear time-consciousness, thereby establishing a structured temporal polarity. A lexical-level, content-analytic methodology, Neurocognitive Hierarchical Categorization Analysis (NHCA) is introduced, in which folk-concepts of time from Roget's international Thesaurus were used to construct wordlist indicators for 9 of the 14 definitional components. Then, using NHCA for a comparative analysis of texts consisting of life-historical interviews, earlier results of an empirical study were briefly re-presented. Australian Aborigines, compared to Euro-Australian controls, used a significantly smaller proportion of words for an index of ordinary-linear time bur a higher proportion of words for an index of patterned-cyclical lime, indicating a time-consciousness that is primarily patterned-cyclical rather than linear. Females were less linear and more patterned-cyclical than males in both cultures. These cross-cultural results contribute predictive validity to the proposed polarity of time-consciousness. Implications for the culture-and-cognition paradox and its resolution in dual-brain theory are addressed.
This article proposes "equality" as a topic for interactionist research. By drawing on the perspectives of Herbert Blumer, Alfred Schutz, and Harold Garfinkel, an attempt is made to lay the theoretical groundwork for studying the interpretive and experiential aspects of equality. Blumer's fundamental premises of symbolic interactionism, Schutz's analysis of relevance and typification, and Garfinkel's treatment of reflexivity and indexicality are explicated and applied to the subject of equality. I then draw upon the moral theory of John Dewey to suggest the positive role that interactionist theory and research might play in the resolution of problematic situations that are framed in terms of equality. Collectively, the complementary aspects of Blumer's, Schutz's, Garfinkel's, and Dewey's thought are used to justify and launch a program of research on a neglected yet important topic: the social construction of equality in everyday life.
Population aging, in conjunction with social and cultural transformations of the life course, has profound implications for social systems—from large-scale structures to micro-level processes. However, much of sociology remains fairly quiet on issues of age and aging, including the subfield of social psychology that could illuminate the impact of these broader social forces on individual lives. This study examines the scope of research on age, aging, and the life course in the leading social psychological journal in sociology (Social Psychology Quarterly) and compares it with coverage in the primary social psychology journal in psychology (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology) and two sociology journals (American Sociological Review and Journal of Health and Social Behavior). An analysis of articles published between 1977 and 2006 shows that approximately 7 percent in Social Psychology Quarterly or Journal of Personality and Social Psychology seriously considered age. In contrast, 11 % of articles in American Sociological Review and 25 % in Journal of Health and Social Behavior did so. Across the journals, examinations of age increased over time. However, studies reflect a limited range of methodological and theoretical approaches with few employing qualitative methods or a symbolic interactionist perspective. We discuss several under-explored sites for research on age, aging, and the life course that would enrich social psychological and sociological scholarship more broadly.
Symbolic interactionists have developed a rich literature on emotion that has advanced our understanding of the socially constructed nature of emotions and has provided a wealth of understanding about emotions and emotional life. Left unexplored, however, has been the temporal nature of emotion. Similarly, interactionists' renewed interest in time and temporality has not focused on emotion. In this article I describe the implicit leads in these two literatures that need to be pulled together to make the linkage clear. Drawing on the work defining emotions as social objects and on George Herbert Mead's theory of the past, I describe how emotional pasts are used as foundations for situated actions. I also explain how we use the emotional pasts in four areas: the individual level, individuals in interaction, collective behavior, and the social structural level. This linkage provides insights for understanding how we use emotional pasts when we construct and enact behavior. I argue that emotional pasts are important tools used in the interpretation and construction of present emotions, to situate selves and others, and to construct the social order.
This paper describes how 23 primarily upper-middle-class high school seniors anticipated identity changes as they prepared to leave home for college. The transition from high school to college is a period of “liminality” during which students are structurally in between old and new statuses. We discuss how students anticipated change, planned to affirm certain of their identities, imagined creating new identities, and contemplated discovering unanticipated identities. Such interpretive effort must be understood in the context of the ambivalence they felt about leaving home and achieving independence. The data also provoke discussion of how social class membership might be implicated in people's ability to control identity change as they move through the life course.
We formulate a comprehensive theory that accounts for variation in the perception of time. According to our theory, lived time is perceived to pass slowly (protracted duration) when conscious information processing is high; lived time is perceived to be synchronized with clock time (synchronicity) when conscious information processing is moderate; and lived time is perceived to have passed quickly (temporal compression) when conscious information processing is low. We examine that portion of the theory concerning temporal compression in light of empirical materials. Since episodic memory erodes as time passes, we hypothesize that this generates the experience of temporal compression by lowering the density of conscious information processing. Our data were drawn from three different age cohorts, and we find strong support for the hypothesis.
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