The Role of HEXACO Personality in Perceived Time Load

Abstract

Today’s environment is characterized by time-demanding activities, which influence people’s perception of time. How people perceive time might be influenced by individual characteristics such as personality. The aim of this study is to observe the role of personality in perceived time load (defined as the extent to which time pressure is felt due to the pace at which tasks or task elements occur). Ninety-two participants (mean age = 20.87 years, SD = 0.86 years, 68 female) representing six different HEXACO personalities were involved voluntarily in this study; they completed a visual search task in conditions with different levels of difficulty, representing different time pressures. Perceived time load was assessed at the end of each condition. While performance is comparable, the results show that there is a strong tendency toward significance of personality in the perceived time load in general, in which extravert people tend to rate perceived time load higher than other personality types in the difficult tasks. Implications of the results are discussed.