Being Here and Now: The Benefits of Belonging in Space and Time

Matthew Baldwin () and Lucas A. Keefer
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Matthew Baldwin: University of Florida
Lucas A. Keefer: University of Southern Mississippi

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2020, vol. 21, issue 8, No 16, 3069-3093

Abstract: Abstract Research suggests that a sense of belonging is a critical prerequisite of happiness and well-being. While some have focused on belonging provided by relationships, other work demonstrates the value of belonging in certain places. In the current research we join these efforts to understand belonging by offering a novel framework for exploring an understudied but no less fundamental aspect of human experience—time. We situate this framework within an existential analysis of human action and test general predictions about the psychological value of experiencing a sense of belonging in time, what we call temporal rootedness. Two samples (Studies 1 and 2) collected across cultures provide converging evidence that temporal rootedness is a unique psychological phenomenon that is predictive of personal psychological well-being. Two additional experiments (Studies 3 and 4) offer promising evidence that temporal rootedness can be situationally induced and threatened with consequences for well-being. These findings demonstrate the potential value of further exploration into this sense of belonging.

Keywords: Time; Temporal self; Well-being; Belonging; Scale development; Quantitative methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1007/s10902-019-00214-7

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