Future Time Perspective and Goal Setting Among College Students: A Measurement for the Dimensions of Future Time Perspective
Abstract
The perceptions of the future, including attitudes, beliefs, and actions toward it, have been formalized into a construct known as Future Time Perspective (FTP). The purpose of this study was to determine if college students’ FTP was significantly different based on demographics, and to determine if the time frame of a goal (academic, professional, personal, or social) would more likely be short-term or long-term. Participants were undergraduate freshmen (first-year) and senior (fourth-year) students enrolled in Texas A&M University. Findings revealed that significant differences in FTP can be found in certain demographic variables such as sex and race, and that classification may predict the time frame in which a certain type of goal will be set. Overall, these findings can assist mentors in a university by giving them a better understanding of how their student mentees perceive the future and how likely they are to set a certain goal in a specific time frame. These attitudes of the future and the time frame differences in which goals are set may impact how successful a student is in a university.
Subject
Future Time PerspectiveFTP
goals
goal-setting
goal setting
college students
mentors
future
time
freshmen
seniors
Citation
Lopez-Ramirez, Enrique (2019). Future Time Perspective and Goal Setting Among College Students: A Measurement for the Dimensions of Future Time Perspective. Undergraduate Research Scholars Program. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /196633.