Actors’ Changing Perception of Time in Unsettled Times and Its Consequences

• In Event: 30462 - Theory Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 3. Confronting Crisis

Abstract

Pragmatist and phenomenological theories have informed us that actors are embedded in the temporal process. Yet, we have a limited understanding of how actors’ perception of time changes during unsettled times and through which mechanisms changes in the agentic temporal orientations lead to real-world consequences. This article addresses these questions through theorizing two distinct types of unsettled times - accelerated versus decelerated unsettled times. Whereas the former shifts actors’ perception of time from the present to the future, the latter redirects agentic temporal orientation back to the past. Shifts in actors’ perception of time, through reshaping the interactive pattern among different groups of actors, lead to intended or unintended consequences crucial for the future. The discussion of developmental states is revisited here empirically to show the utility of this theoretical model. Taken together, this article contributes both to the theoretical articulation of temporality and action, and to the empirical discussion of developmental states.

Author

• Lyusen Wang, Zhejiang University