International studies in time perspective

This book integrates several papers which were presented on the Ist International Conference on Time Perspective – Converging Paths in Psychology Time Theory and Research that took place 5-8 September 2012, at the University of Coimbra. Being the first, we hope it to be a milestone in highlighting the effort spent by different psychological approaches to understand the role played by time concepts in individual, group, and organizational development. The Conference was hosted by the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science of the University of Coimbra (Portugal), (its foundation takes back to 1290), and an institution for which the notions of a rich past history and future strategic planning constitute the cornerstones of today’s concerns.

In a moment in time where the past, the present and the future are intensively invested with meaning and intention, researchers coming from all over the world reflected on how time perspectives impact on ourlives, from our more proximal to our most distal socio-ecological contexts. It reunited more than 300 participants coming from 42 countries spread all over the 5 continents.

The chapters that are included in this book are a good illustration of the multifaceted focuson the research of subjective time in the psychological science. We hope that this book is able to nourish the next wave of researchers on psychological time concepts, encouraging them to pursue and renovate the theory, the research efforts and the practical applications in this exciting field of psychological enquiry.