An examination of thinking style patterns as a function of thinking perspective profile

According to the theory of MindTime, the ability of human beings to dissociate from the present moment and engage in mental time travel gave rise to the development of three distinct thinking perspectives: Past, Present, and Future thinking, and the extent to which individuals utilize the three thinking perspectives, in combination, influences the types of task environments they prefer. In this study, we took a profile approach and examined the extent to which individuals manifest different patterns of thinking styles based on their thinking perspective profile. Six hundred and eighty-three graduate students enrolled in an on-line university participated in the study. Results supported our hypothesis: all univariate tests using profile as the grouping variable were statistically significant. Moreover, the pattern of statistically significant post hoc tests shows that individuals manifested different patterns of thinking styles depending on their thinking perspective profile. Our findings show the importance of taking a holistic approach when examining the combined influence Past, Present, and Future thinking on outcome variables of interest.

► Past, Present, and Future thinking comprise different thinking perspectives.
► Thinking styles differed depending on thinking perspective profile.
► Thinking style patterns differed depending on thinking perspective profile.