Time perspective and autobiographical memory: Individual and gender differences in experiencing time and remembering the past

Abstract

This study examined the degree to which time perspectives were associated with the processes and content of autobiographical memory. A sample of 230 young adults (118 women) completed the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI; Zimbardo and Boyd, 1999 ), the Big Five Inventory (BFI; John and Srivastava, 1999 ), and responded in writing to seven memory prompts as well as to items from the Autobiographical Memory Questionnaire (AMQ; Rubin et al., 2003 ). The Past Positive and Future subscales of the ZTPI predicted many aspects of memory even when controlling for BFI traits. There were gender differences in time perspectives and gender moderated a number of the correlations between time perspectives and autobiographical memory.