Abstract:

An experimental study on attitudes towards time and on the behavioural implications of such attitudes was conducted on 46 staff members of an Italian bank. The methods used were a Semantic Differential (SD) composed of three stimulus words (the past, the present and the future) and twelve adjectival scales, as well as in depth interviews aiming at providing a character-profile of the subjects. The results indicated that the largest grouping of subjects could be considered past-oriented. The second group fell into the category of future-oriented and the third group was made up by present-oriented individuals. For a minority, time dimensions were blurred and no specific orientation prevailed. Other SD measurements permitted to obtain a more articulate picture of the nature of attitudes toward time.