Researchers have found an association between how people relate to time and their level of intelligence.

A study published in the journal Intelligence investigated the link between a person’s time perspective and their cognitive abilities. The study found people who focused on things that went wrong in the past and people who believed their fate was predetermined tended to score lower on measures of fluid and verbal intelligence. People who focused on seeking pleasure in the present moment tended to have lower verbal intelligence scores. People focused on future goals, on the other hand, tended to have higher verbal intelligence scores.

PsyPost interviewed the study’s corresponding author, Marcin Zajenkowski of the University of Warsaw. Read his responses below:

PsyPost: Why were you interested in this topic?

Zajenkowski: Generally, I am interested how intelligence is associated with personality. For me, it is interesting how intelligence shapes some aspects of our personality and emotional reactions (e.g. reduces anger or anxiety). On the other hand, personality traits influence the development on some cognitive ability. For instance, more open individuals engage more often in intellectual activities and, in turn, increase their cognitive potential.

So far, there were no studies exploring the association between intelligence and time perspective. The latter is a relatively stable characteristic describing the way in which an individual partitions the flow of personal experiences into time-bound categories, or time zones, that becomes part of the personality. It has been shown that the time perspective dimensions predict a number of important real-life outcomes. Therefore, I was wondering whether more adaptive time perspective profile might depend on the level of intelligence, but also, whether particular dimensions of time perspective shape our abilities.

What should the average person take away from your study?

There are five dimensions of time perspective: past positive, past negative, present fatalism, present hedonism and future. We found that present fatalism was most strongly associated with intelligence. Most important, this relationship was negative meaning that people exhibiting high fatalistic orientation show low level of cognitive ability. Present fatalism is defined as an orientation of hopelessness and helplessness, the belief of little control over one’s life and its unpredictability and that the present must be borne with resignation because humans are at the whimsical mercy of “fate”. It is possible that fatalists hold a negative view about their cognitive ability and faced with a demanding cognitive task, such as an intelligence test, they experience lack of motivation, simply because they do not believe that they can effectively cope with the encountered difficulties. Indeed, we found that fatalists experienced more stress while solving intelligence tests.

Other interesting finding is related to two dimensions that are often in opposition: present hedonism and future time perspective. Present Hedonistic perspective refers to a concentration on pleasure, obtaining instantaneous gratification of activities and little concern about the future consequences of one’s actions. Future orientation focuses on long-term goals, which are associated with planning as well as achievements and success in life. As we predicted, hedonism decreased and future increased the level of crystallized abilities. The latter refer to our knowledge acquired during the lifespan. It seems that concentration on pleasure and low consideration of future consequences hinder learning and development of crystallized intelligence.

Are there any major caveats? What questions still need to be addressed?

The most important question concerns the causal nature of the obtained results. Specifically, does intelligence influence the development of specific time perspective profile, or time perspective influences our abilities. This question requires further studies, e.g. longitudinal research.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

This and other studies suggest that heart (personality, emotions, time perspective) and reason (intelligence) are inseparable.

The study, “Time to be smart: Uncovering a complex interplay between intelligence and time perspectives“, was also co-authored by Maciej Stolarski, Oliwia Maciantowicz, Marta Malesza, and Joanna Witowska.