Beyond Flow: Temporality and Participation

in Everyday Activities
Elizabeth Larson, Alexander von Eye

KEY WORDS
activities of daily living
human activities
occupations
time perception

Experience sampling examined how temporality, the lived experience of time, varied related to specific activity
qualities and experiences in everyday life. Thirty-five students completed electronic surveys regarding their
current activity and feelings and rated the activitys novelty and complexity, their depth of emotional and intellectual engagement, the direction and depth of attention, and the demands of the activity on their skills. Using
configural frequency analysis and an analysis of narrative responses, configurations of factors (types) associated with variations in perceived temporalities were described. Four composite types identified occurred with
any temporality. In most habitual activities, time was perceived as passing the same as clock time. Most faster
or timeless temporalities occurred in complex, novel, and skill-requiring activities that engaged participants.
Unexpected activity configurations were also associated with accelerated perceptions of time. Occupational
therapists may use this knowledge to assist clients to redesign activities that promote positive experiences
without high activity demands.
Larson, E., & von Eye, A. (2010). Beyond flow: Temporality and participation in everyday activities. American Journal of
Occupational Therapy, 64, 152163.

Elizabeth Larson, PhD, is Associate Professor,

Occupational Therapy Program, Department of
Kinesiology, University of WisconsinMadison, 2180
Medical Sciences Center, 1300 University Avenue,
Madison, WI 53706; blarson@education.wisc.edu
Alexander von Eye, PhD, is Professor, Department of
Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing.

ccupationaltherapistsanalyzeandalterthequalitiesoftheactivitiesindesigning
therapeuticinterventionsandredesigningsatisfyinglifestylesincollaboration
withclients.Occupationaltherapistsworkwithclientstogradeactivitydemands.
Ideally,clientsexperiencesufficientbutnotexcessivechallengeduringtherapeutic
interventionpromotingpositiveengagementinactivity.Csikszentmihalyis(1990)
worksuggeststhatactivitiesthatarewellmatchedtoapersonsabilitiescanprovide
asenseofflow.Flowisdescribedasaspecificsetofactivityqualities(challenging
activityhighskillusematch)andatemporality(timeless)relatedtothisexperience.Thisworkresonatedwiththerapistsbecauseitarticulatesthejust-right
challengeofoccupationforwhichoccupationaltherapistsstrive(Rebeiro&Polgar,
1999).Designinginterventionsthatfosteroptimalpositiveexperienceisatherapeuticideal.
Researchsuggestsonessenseoftimeduringactivitiesmaybeakeyindicatorof
emotionalexperienceduringparticipation.Whentimepassesquickly,activitiesare
oftenviewedaspleasant(Gupta&Cummings,1986).Conversely,asenseoftime
scarcity,orinsufficienttimeforanactivity,hasbeenassociatedwithincreasedstress
andpoorerphysicalandmentalhealth(Lehote,1998;Zuzanek&Mannell,1998).
Exceptionshavebeennoted,however;forexample,althoughflowisaccompanied
byalossoftimesense,itisnotnecessarilyassociatedwithpositivemood(Haworth
&Evans,1995).Associalconcernsriseregardingtimeperceptionsandhealth,for
instance,howtimepressureandscarcitymaybeerodingqualityoflife,itisimportant
tobetterunderstandtemporalityrelatedtoparticipationineverydayactivities.
Therearemanyothercombinations,beyondflow,thatarepresentinclients
everydaylives.MassiminiandCarli(1988)proposedeightdifferentchallengeabilitymatchesorchannels,whichtheynamedwithrelatedtheorizedexperiences.

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Forexample,boredomwasdescribedasalowchallengehigh
skillmatchorrelaxationasalowchallengemoderateskill
match. Speed of times passing was investigated for their
eightchannels.Inadditiontoflow,inthearousal(highchallengeandmoderateskill)andanxiety(highchallengeand
lowskill)channels,timewasperceivedtomovequickly.No
other alterations in temporality were noted in any of the
otherchallengeabilitymatches.Littleisknownabouthow
temporalityisexperiencedduringparticipationinverycommon, but less challenging, habitual or otherwise nonflow
configurationactivities.Itisimportanttounderstandqualitiesoftherangeofdailyactivities,aswellasoptimalexperiencetoorchestratemeaningfuloccupationsforclients.
Drawn from theory and a review of research, the
DynamicOccupationinTimemodel(DOiT;Larson,2004;
Larson&vonEye,2006)proposesacontinuumofactivity
andskilldimensionsrelatedtotimespassingandsubjective
experiences.TheDOiTmodelsuggestsdynamicsofparticipation that can assist occupational therapists in selecting
therapeuticactivitiesforclientsandsuggestingstrategiesto
shiftparticipationtomorepositiveexperiences(seeFigure1).
Itsuggeststhatapersonsskillinperforminganactivitytask
alterstheperceptionofthetaskcomplexityandtimeinpassing.Learningmayalterwhetherattentionandactionduring
anactivityareautomaticoreffortful.Withtheexceptionof
experience sampling research (i.e., Conti, 2001;
Csikszentymihalyi&Csikszentmihalyi,1988),researchhas
notexaminedhowthepersonsskillsandabilitytoparticipate
intheactivityrelatestotemporality.Asnotedearlier,onlyin
high-challenge situations, with any level of skill, was time
perceivedtomovequickly(Massimini&Carli,1988).
Briefly,DOiTproposesthatapersonparticipatingin
an activity may operate in a routine manner or a highly
generativemannerdependingonthepersonsinterestand
thespecificactivityfeaturesthatchallengeorfailtochallengetheirskillinperformingtheactivity(Larson,2004;
Larson & von Eye, 2006). Either intensive emotional or
intensiveintellectualinvolvementintheactivityistheorized
tofacilitatedeeperattentionalfocusandthusmoreengagementinanactivity.Thus,strategieslikemindfulnesscould
enhanceorpromotedeepeningengagementwhendesired.
Inaddition,sufficientbutnotexcessivechallengestothe
individual skills are believed to further reinforce engagement. This process, in turn, leads to differing temporal
experiences,whichmayshiftasthepersonlessensordeepenshisorherengagementorastheactivitybecomesmore
orlesschallenging.Thedeepertheengagementintheactivityandthegreaterthedemandforskill,withincertainabilityparameters,thegreaterthespeedoftimeinpassingis
proposedtobe.Howeveratthehighestlevelsofdemand,a
performancedecrementisbelievedtooccurintandemwith

aslowingoftimewhenthechallengesofthetaskexceedthe
personsabilities.Finally,theresultingexperiencesmayvary
inthesubjectiveexperience,senseofachievement,andexperience of performance. This last part of the model lacks
sufficientdetailandneedsfurtherresearchtoelucidatethe
subjectiveexperiencesrelatedtovariationsinactivityconfigurationsandtemporality.
Apreviousstructuralmodelingofthedatapresentedin
thisarticlesupportedaninteractionofengagementfeatures
(e.g.,emotionalengagement,intellectualengagement,focus
on self, focus on activity), activity participation features
(e.g.,novelty,skill,complexity),andtemporality.Specifically,activityfeaturessignificantlypredictedengagement,
whichinturnpredictedtemporality.Inaddition,thegreater
theengagementwas,thefastertimewasperceivedtopass.
Thustheprogressivedeepeningofengagementduringthe
activitybeingdrawnintoanactivityincreasedthespeed
oftimeinpassing.Thisprioranalysissupportsanoverall
tenetofthedynamicinteractionsdescribedintheDOiT
model.Itdoesnotprovidethedetailaboutspecificactivities
andexperiencesthatarenecessaryforthisknowledgetobe
appliedtopractice.
Understandingtherangeofcommonactivityconfigurationfeaturescouldaidoccupationaltherapistsindesigninginterventionsthatpromotewell-beingand,byfurther
extension,positivelifestyles.Forexample,thismaybeone
tacktounderstandingandpromotingoccupationalbalance
(Christiansen, 1996). By examining how much of daily
experienceisspentinactivitieswheretimeflies,drags,or
moves in synchrony with the clock for people with high
self-perceivedwell-being,wemaylearnmoreaboutoccupationalbalance.Itislikelythateveryoneneedssomedown
timewithoutactivitychallenge;somechallenging,flowproducingactivities;andsometimeimmersedintheperfunctory dailyness of completing simple everyday tasks.
Beforetheoverallorganizationofthesedailyactivitypatternscanbeexamined,researchisneededtoidentifyhow
shiftsintemporalityarerelatedtovariationsinsetsofactivityqualitiesandengagement,specifically,whetherthereare
commonactivityconfigurationsandexperiencesrelatedto
certain occupations. The following review examines core
issuesinstudyingtemporalityandeachofkeyfeaturesof
the DOiT model (e.g., novelty, complexity, attentional
focus,skilluse).

Complexity of Researching Temporality

Understandingtemporality,therelationshipoflivedexperiencetoclocktime(McGrath&Kelly,1986),isnoeasytask.
Thismaybewhyithasnotbeensystematicallyandpersistentlystudied,asisobviousintheliteratureontemporality.

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Figure 1. Dynamic Occupation in Time Model (DOiT).

From Larson, E. A. (2004). The time of our lives: The experience of temporality in occupation. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71. Used with
permission.

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Earlyon,James(1890/1950)describedacoreandproblematicenigma:Ingeneral,atimefilledwithvariedandinterestingexperiencesseemsshortinpassingbutlongaswelook
back.Conversely,atractoftimeemptyofexperiencesseems
longinpassingbutinretrospectshort(James1890/1950,p.
624).Tosimplify,thisstudyfocusesontheexperienceof
time perception during activity, avoiding the prospective
versusretrospectivedebate.
Becauseofitscomplexity,temporalityresearchhasbeen
conductedinlabsettingstocontrolformultiplevariables.
Thesestudiesidentifiedsinglevariablesorspecificcircumstanceswhentimesenseappearedtoincreaseorcontract.
However,theirproceduresfailedtoattendtothecomplex
influencesonperceptionsoftemporalityindailylifeandlack
ecologicalvalidity(Glicksohn,1996).However,thesestudies
do supply foundational variables to consider in everyday
contexts.Ofspecificinteresthereareactivityfactorssuchas
novelty,complexity,depthofengagement,attentionalfocus,
andskillrequirement.Theseactivityfeaturesconsideredin
the DOiT model are commonly considered by clinicians
whengradingtherapeuticactivity.

Novelty and Complexity

Researchprovidesevidence,albeitcontradictory,astohow
noveltyaltersperceivedduration.Initiallynovelornewtasks
madeequivalenttimeperiodsappearlongertoparticipants
(Harton,1938).Yet,theoppositewasalsonoted,inwhicha
novelfirstactivitywasestimatedtobeshorter thansucceeding
activities(Loehlin,1959;Postman,1944).Inaddition,strategiesthatenhancednoveltysuchasirregularpresentationof
stimulioradditionofasecondtask,bothledtoaperception
thattimepassedmorequickly(Hawkes&Sherman,1972;
Macar,1996).Noveltymayinitiallycreateadifferentprocessingload,leadingtoaperceptionthattimepassedquickly;
however,inverydifficulttasks,thismightnotbetrue.Inthe
instanceofhighchallenge,noveltymaymaketimeappearto
dragwhenthetaskoverwhelmstheperson.
Tobetterunderstandtheintricateliteratureoncomplexityandtemporality,information-processingloadcreated
bybothtaskdifficultyandstimulusquantitymustbeconsidered.Someresearchershavetriedtoseparatecomplexity
and difficulty, arguing that one is a perceptual process,
whereastheotheriscognitiveprocessing(Angrilli,Cherubini,
Pavese,&Manfredinin,1997).Thisstudytakestheperspectivethatactivitycomplexityencompassesandrequiresperceptualprocessingofstimuliandthereforecannotbeconsideredseparatelyfromit.
Twodifferenttheorieshavebeenproposedthatappear
toapplyonlytotheactivitiesinthemiddleofthecomplexity
spectrum: (1) the greater the number and complexity of

stimuli are, the greater the perceived duration is (Zakay,

1992)or(2)morecomplextasksdemandattentiontothe
task rather than time, so perceived duration is shorter
(Thomas&Weaver,1975).Inotherwords,themorestimuli
fillmemory,themoretimeseemstohavepassed.Inthesecondtheory,themoreattentionisdemandedbytheactivity,
thelessfocuswehaveontime.Therefore,lesstimeseemsto
havepassed.Inaseriesofstudies,increaseddifficultyledto
timeestimateslessthantheactualclocktimeelapsedortime
sped along (Block, 1992; Zakay, Nitzan, & Glicksohn,
1983).Perceivedtimewasshowntobeaninversefunction
of amount of information processed (Curton & Lordahl,
1974;Hicks,Miller,Gaes,&Bierman,1977;Michon,1965;
Ornstein, 1969; Vroon, 1970). Similarly, intervals where
greaternumbersofstimuliwereprocessedordeeperprocessing was required were perceived as shorter (Arlin, 1986;
Block,1974;Ornstein,1969;Predebon,1996;Underwood
&Swain,1973).Thisparallelsconditionsofflowwherea
senseoftimelessnessorforeshorteningoftimeoccursduring
a just-right level of task difficulty (Csikszentmihalyi &
Csikszentmihalyi,1988).Themoreextremeendsofthecomplexity continuum, very difficultmoderately challenging
activitiesorlowcomplexity,donotadheretotheproposed
inverselinearrelationshipbetweencomplexityandperceived
duration.Inseveral,increasingthenumberofstimuliledto
increased duration estimates closer to objective time or of
longerdurations(Macar,1996;McClain,1983).Atsome
point,taskcomplexitymaytaxtheparticipantsability,leading to a perception that time is longer. At the opposite
extreme,passivelywatchingorunfilledintervalsalsoledto
overestimatesoftime(Hicks&Brundige,1974;Thomas&
Weaver,1975).Thisismaybesimilartoboredominwhich
whentimeisunfilled,itseemstodrag.AU-shapedrelationshipbetweenlevelsofcomplexityandperceptionoftimehas
beenhypothesized(Flaherty,1999;Glicksohn,2001).

Engagement
Complexity is arguably generated only when the person
activelyparticipatesinanactivity.Beingpassivelypresentfor
adifficulttaskratherthanactivelyengagedmayleadtolongerperceiveddurationssimilartounfilledintervals(McClain,
1983).Flaherty(1993)proposedthatcertainactivitiesevoke
eitheranemotionalresponseoranintellectualinterest,or
both,creatingwhatistermedhereasengagement.Depthof
engagementishighlydependentontheactivity,context,and
personsinterestsandabilities.Forexample,anovelactivity
mayevokeinterestinonepersonwhofeelschallengedbythe
taskandfearinanotherwhofindstheactivitybeyondhisor
herability.Engagementishighlydependentonthepersons
lifeexperiencesandskillset.

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Althoughemotionalorintellectualengagementperse
hasnotbeenstudied,conceptsparalleltothesesuchasthe
influenceofemotion,arousal,orinteresthavebeenexamined.Forexample,bothnegativeemotionalcircumstances
andpositiveexpectancieshavebeenshowntosignificantly
increase time estimates (Angrilli et al., 1997; Edmonds,
Cahoon,&Bridges,1981;Flaherty,1987;Loftus,Schooler,
Boone,&Kline,1987).Ithasbeensuggestedthatalterations
inemotionunderliethesechangesintemporality,potentially
byincreasedphysiologicarousal(Curton&Lordahl,1974;
Fox,Bradbury,&Hampton,1967;Gupta&Cummings,
1986).Itdoesappearthattasksthatpassquicklyareperceivedasmorepleasant(Gupta&Cummings,1986).There
maybeareciprocalloopbetweenparticipationandemotion
thatinfluencesperceivedduration.Withregardtointerest,
cognitivelymoreactivepeopleunderestimatetime(Chebat,
Gelinas-Chebat,Vaninski,&Filiatrault,1995),asdothose
who are highly intrinsically motivated (Conti, 2001).
Absorbed involvement, whether emotional or cognitive,
seemstoalterperceiveddurationbecauseofahypothetical
lengthening of the subjective time unit or time flying
(Glicksohn,2001).

may be used asindexes ofincreaseddemand. People may

compare whether the current circumstance matches their
typical density of experience (Flaherty, 1999, p. 15).
Variationsfromtypicaldemandsrelatedtocomplexactivities
areexperiencedasmorechallengingtoonesskillsandthereby
altertemporality.
Asthisreviewdemonstrates,aspectsofthesubjectivity
oftemporalityhavebeeninvestigated,butrarelyhastemporality been studied as a group of interacting factors
becausetheycommonlyoccurineverydayactivities.Based
onthisliteratureandtheproposedtheoreticalmodel,this
studywillexploreconfigurationsofactivityfactorsrelated
totimeinpassingandsubjectiveexperienceduringeveryday
activitiesforagroupofyoungadults.Specifically,groupings
offeaturesincludingnovelty,complexity,theintensityand
directionofattention(towardselfortheactivity),theintellectualandemotionalengagementintheactivity,andreliance on current skills or generation of new skills will be
examinedastheyrelatetoslow,synchronous,fast,andtimelesstemporalities.

Attentional Focus

Thisstudypresentsfindingsfromastudyoftemporalityand
participationinactivity.Apreviousreportdescribedastructuralmodelinganalysisofthesedata,asnotedearlier,providing preliminary support for the overall dynamics of the
DOiTmodel(Larson&vonEye,2006).Torecap,temporalitywaspredictedfromanactivityfactor(novelty,skill,
and complexity) and a participation factor of depth of
engagement(emotionalandintellectualengagement,focus
onselfandfocusonactivity).Pathcoefficientssuggestedthat
activityfeaturesincombinationwiththepersonsskilluse
significantlypredictedtheengagementfactor,whichinturn
predictedtemporality.Atwo-waypathbetweentemporality
andengagementwasinterpretedassupportingthatincreased
engagementledtoperceptionsoftimeincreasinginspeed,
whichthenincreasedengagement.Thecurrentreportanalyzesthespecificvariationsinmultipletemporalitiesrelated
tovariousconfigurationsofactivitynoveltyandcomplexity,
theintensityanddirection(towardselfortheactivity)ofthe
attentionalfocus,theintellectualoremotionalengagement
intheactivity,andtherelianceoncurrentskillsorgeneration
ofnewskills.

Focusingattentiontotuneintheforegroundandtuneout
thebackgroundofstimuliisessentialtoskilledparticipation
in an activity (Easterbrook, 1959; Michon, 1965). The
direction of attention, inward toward the self or outward
towardtheexternalenvironment,mayvarydependingon
emotionalorintellectualconsiderations.Forexample,the
self-consciousbeginnermaybelesslikelytofeeltimeflowing
quickly when attending to how well he or she is doing.
Therefore,thedirectionofattentionoutwardversusinward
mayleadtogreaterabsorptioninthetaskandforeshortening
of time. Attention to task prolonged perceived durations
(Mattes&Ulrich,1998)andledtounderestimatesofduration(Curton&Lordhal,1974;Thomas&Weaver,1975;
Zakay,1992,1993).Theseconflictingfindingsmayagain
be explained by considering the continuum of attention.
Veryhighorverylowlevelsofattentionmayberequired
dependingontheinformation-processingload.

Skill
Peoplessubjectiveinterpretationofthedemandsoftheirskill
use in an activity have been described as key to perceived
temporality(Flaherty,1999;Frankenhauser,1959;Woodrow,
1951).Inthisinterpretiveprocess,thematchofthepersons
skillsandtaskdemandsareconsidered.Strainexperiencedor
differencesinexpectedcomplexitywithinagiventimeperiod

Method

Participants and Procedures

Participantswerevolunteersfromtwooccupationaltherapy
programsinthemidwestandwesternU.S.universities,ages
18 to 34 years (mean = 23.8 years). Most students were
female(n=34female;n=1male)andWhite(n=29White;
n=6Asian).Datawerecollectedin4-daycycles(3collection

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daysand1restday).Participantswerepagedbymeansof
Motorola pagers 10 times daily (randomly within 1.5-hr
blocks between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.), completing
three waves of data for a total of 2,740 surveys. Because
occupationsweresampledacrossatypicalday,conditions
such as fatigue or tiredness may have influenced participantsresponses.Eachstudentwaspaged140timesandon
averagecompleted78surveys(responserateof55.7%).This
ismoresurveyscollectedonaverageperparticipantthanthe
maximum of 70 total surveys other experience sampling
method studies have attempted to collect (BargesSchaapveld,Nicolson,vanderHoop,&DeVries,1995;
Conti,2001;Klumb&Baltes,1999).Becausetheindividualactivityanditsqualitieswastheunitofanalysis,rather
thandifferencesbetweenpeople,thisresponseratewasconsideredacceptable.
After each page, participants responded to questions
withbriefstatements,ratedactivityfeaturesonLikertscales
anchored by extreme adjectives (see Larson & von Eye,
2006),andreturnedthecompletedsurveybymeansofemail.Thetwoquestionsusedforthisanalysiswereasfollows:Justbeforeyouwerepaged,describethemainthing
youweredoingorHowdidyoufeelrightbeforeyouwere
paged?Thesecondquestionwasintendedtogeneratefeelingdescriptionsthatcombinedwithactivityfactorsmayalso
altertemporality.Activityratingscaleswerebasedonthe
DOiT model and included the following eight variables:
participants rating of activity novelty, complexity of the
activity,theiremotionalengagementinthetask,theirintellectualengagementinthetask,theintensityoftheirfocus
ontheactivity,theirfocusonthemselvesduringtheactivity,
therelianceoncurrentskillorinnovativeactions,andtheir
ratingofhowtimepassedrelativetoclocktime.
Methods of Analysis
Theeightvariablesweresubjectedtoaconfiguralfrequency
analysis(CFA;Lienert&Krauth,1975;vonEye,2002;von
Eye,Spiel,&Wood,1996).TheCFAidentifiedsignificant
clusters or groupings of the activity variables. We termed
thesegroupingsoffactorsasoccupational types.CFAwasused
toidentifyoccupationaltypesbyexaminingthepatternsof
theeightvariablesthatco-occurredmoreoftenthanexpected
basedonchance.Inaddition,tofurtherunderstandoccupationalconfigurations,thisanalysisusedthenarrativedescriptionsofthekindsofoccupationsandfeelingsdescribedduringthesetypesofbehaviors(seeLarson,2006,foradescription
oftherecodingandcollapsingofnarrativedata).Thisallowed
for the explication of the resulting subjective experiences
associatedwiththeseoccupationalconfigurationtypes.
Theactivityvariableswereusedindichotomousform,
with1indicatinglowand2indicatinghigh.Temporalitywas

scaledatthenominalscalelevel(1=slower than clock time,

2=same as clock time,3=faster than clock time,and4=lost
track of time).Crossed,theeightvariablesforma222
22224contingencytablewith512cells.1The
CFAmodelusedforanalysiswasafirst-orderglobalmodel,
thatis,amodelthatproposesthatthevariablesunderstudy
have only main effects but are not related to each other.
Typescanoccuronlyifvariableassociationsexist.Thecomparisonsoftheobservedwiththeexpectedcellfrequencies
wereperformedusingtheAnscombezapproximation(see
Upton,1978;vonEye,2002).Theexperiment-wisewas
protectedusingBonferronisprocedure,whichresultedin
the adjusted significance threshold * = 0.0000977.
Configurations,patternsoftheeightvariablesunderstudy,
constitute types if the null hypothesis of no difference
between observed and expected cell frequencies can be
rejectedattheadjustedlevel*.Typesreportedherewere
significantat*=0.0000977.Table1illustratestheparticipants ratings (high = 2 or low = 1) of the eight variable
configurations and a frequency of the configuration.
Numbersinthefirstrowindicatethetypes.

Results
AssuggestedbytheDOiTmodel,ofthefaster-than-theclockorlosttrackoftimeoccupationaltypes(15),atotal
of10occurredinhigh-complexity,high-novelty,andhighskilldemandingactivities.Thiswasexpectedgiventhestructuralmodelingofthesedata.However,perceptionoftime
inpassinginsomecasesrangedfromslowtofastacrossa
spectrumofactivitiesorthesameconfigurationoffactors.
Forexample,someactivitieslowincomplexityandnovelty
thatrequiredlittleengagement,attention,orskillalsoproducedaccelerationsintime.
Thirty-one types emerged from the CFA describing
1,034ofthe2,740surveys.Ofthese31types,fourcomposite
occupational types were noted (von Eye, Lienert, &
Wertheimer,1991).Compositeoccupationaltypesareaset
ofoccupationaltypesthatareratedsimilarlyonallvariables
exceptforonevariable,inthiscasetemporality.Thecomposite occupational types that emerged here are interesting
becausedespitethesimilaractivityratings,time-in-passing
ratingsvaried.Intheseinstances,timeshiftedfromslowto
timeless despite similar skill, engagement, and activity
demands.Theadditionalnarrativedata(feelingsandoccupationcategories)assistedinunderstandingwhatunderliesthese
shifts.Thefollowingdescribesthecompositeandsingletypes
astheyrangefromthelow-tothehigh-ratedconfigurations.
ThistablecanberequestedfromElizabethLarson(blarson@education.
wisc.edu)orAlexandervonEye(voneye@msu.edu).

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Table 1. Configurations of Novelty, Emotional Engagement, Intellectual Engagement, Focus on Activity, Focus on Self, Complexity, Skill,
and Temporality in Occupational Types
TYPE

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

CONFIGURATION

11111111

11111112

11111113

11111114

11111121

11111122

11112111

11112112

11112113

12111111

12112112

12112113

12222114

21111112

21111221

21111222

21221214

21221223

21221224

22112223

22221213

22221221

22221222

22221223

22221224

22222212

22222213

22222221

22222222

22222223

22222224

NOVELTY

EMOTION

INTELLECT

FOCUS

SELF

COMPLEXITY

SKILL-USE

TEMPORALITY

SLOW

SAME

FASTER

LOST TRACK

SLOW

SAME

SLOW

SAME

FASTER

SLOW

SAME

FASTER

LOST TRACK

SAME

SLOW

SAME

LOST TRACK

FASTER

LOST TRACK

FASTER

FASTER

SLOW

SAME

FASTER

LOST TRACK

SAME

FASTER

SLOW

SAME

FASTER

LOST TRACK

FREQUENCY

31 80 38 27 13 29 26 62 39 13 45 24 12 27 16 25 14 29 17 26 19 14 20 50 44 38 31 22 41 80 82

COMPOSITE
TYPES

Comp
Type 1

Comp
Type 2

Comp
Type 3

Comp
Type 4

Configuration Key
Activity descriptors: H = rated high (= 2 in configurations); L = rated low (= 1 in configurations)

Table 2. Common Occupations and Experiences in Composite Occupational Types

Composite
Type
1

Activity
Configuration*

Slow: watching TV, walking, eating, attending class, doing

chores, driving

Slow: bored/tired, rushed, stressed, uncomfortable

Same as clock: driving, eating, watching TV, sleeping,

doing self-care, doing chores, walking

Same as clock: bored, relaxed and content, neutral

Faster than clock: sleeping, eating

Faster than clock: relaxed, sleepy, happy, uncomfortable, bored

Lost track: sleeping, walking

Lost track: sleepy, content, happy, rushed

novelty
complexity
emotional engagement
intellectual engagement
focus on self
focus on activity
skill

Slow: attending class, working, riding in a vehicle, doing

self-care, other

Slow: bored, bodily discomfort

Same as clock: self-care (45%), eating, walking, doing

chores, waiting

Same as clock: tired/sleepy, okay, calm, good, bored, rushed

Faster than clock: doing self-care (mainly showering), eating, doing chores, sleeping, walking, watching TV

Faster than clock: tired, hungry, anxious, rushed, relaxed,

good

novelty
complexity
emotional engagement
intellectual engagement
focus on self
focus on activity
skill

Slow: attending class, studying, writing

Slow: thinking, frustrated, anxious

Same as clock: working, attending class, studying, talking

Same as clock: happy, interested, worried

Faster than clock: working, studying, attending class, driving/riding, writing, watching TV, talking, reading

Faster than clock: interested, excited

Lost track: talking, working, writing, attending class, studying, cooking, taking exam, playing

Lost track: happy, anxious

novelty
complexity
emotional engagement
intellectual engagement
focus on self
focus on activity
skill

Slow: working, studying, talking, attending meeting

Slow: anxious, overwhelmed, stressed, frustrated

Same as clock: working, talking, attending class, studying,

watching sports/video

Same as clock: happy, stressed, calm, frustrated, productive,

confused

Faster than clock: talking, working, studying, reading, writing, attending class

Faster than clock: good/okay, happy, engaged, excited,

relaxed, rushed

Lost track: talking, writing, working, studying, teaching,

playing, attending performance/meeting

Lost track: happy, focused, excited, productive, stressed,

anxious

Common Experiential Qualities

novelty
complexity
emotional engagement
intellectual engagement
focus on self
focus on activity
skill

Most Frequent Occupations

*Bold text indicates items that were rated high.

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Table2providesthereaderwithadescriptionofeachofthe
compositeoccupationaltypesincludingitsactivityconfiguration,themostfrequentoccupationsoccurringinthecomposite occupational type and its common experiential
qualities.
Habitual Occupations
Inthisfirstcompositeoccupationaltypeofhabitualorfamiliar
activities(Types14;calculatedusingStoufferztest;z=28.61,
p<.01),timetypicallypassedthesameastheclock.However,
whenstudentsexperienceswerealignedwiththeactivity,that
is,feelingtiredorrelaxedduringsleep,timewasperceivedas
passing quickly. These activities were rated low in novelty,
complexity,emotionalorintellectualengagement,focusonself
ortheactivity,andskill.Studentsweretypicallydriving,performingself-careorchores,watchingTV,oreating.
Althoughthisoccupationalpatternincludedallcategoriesoftemporality,experientialdifferenceswererevealedin
narrativeanswers.Whentimepassedslowlyinthefirsttype
(Type1)ofthiscompositeoccupationaltype,studentsmost
oftenappearedboredortired(58%)orrushed,stressed,or
uncomfortable(29%)engagingintheseactivities(attending
class,chores,driving,eating,sleeping,waiting,walking,and
watchingTV;6%13%each).InType2,themostfrequent,
studentsweredoingsimilaractivitiesyetfeltmoreneutral
(bored,29%;relaxedandcontent,22%;neutral,18%).A
shift to time passing quickly in the third type was likely
relatedtothemostcommonactivity,sleeping(45%),where
timeflyingwasdesirableandstudentexperiencematched
activitydemands(relaxed,34%;sleepy,26%;happy,13%;
uncomfortable,13%;bored,3%).Similarly,inthelasttype
(Type4),losingtrackoftime,therewasamatchoftheactivityandthedesiredexperience.Themajoractivitiesinthis
typeweresleeping(55.5%),walking(11.1%),doingselfcare, and doing chores (7.4% each), and the majority of
students felt sleepy (48.1%), content (22.2%), or happy
(14.8%),withafewfeelingrushed(11.1%).Experiential
occupationalmatchinginthelasttwotypesofthiscomposite
occupational type was associated with perceptions of
increasedspeed.
Skill-Requiring Habitual Occupations
Inthenexttwosingletypesofskill-requiringbutotherwise
low-demandactivities,Types5and6,thefeelingsoffatigue
oranxietydifferentiatedwhethertimedraggedorwasthe
sameastheclock.Therewerelowscoresoneveryvariable
exceptskill.Activitiesforthefirsttypeincludedthefollowing:chores(23.4%),doingchildcare,reading,ridingina
car(15.4%each),ordoingself-care,waiting,class,ordriving
(7.7%each).Forthesecondtype,theyincludedthefollowing:eating(21.7%),walkingordoingmiscellaneousactivi-

ties(17.2%),e-mailing,watchingTV,doingchores(13.8%
each),ordoingself-care(3.4%).Intheslowtype,nearlyhalf
felttired,andanotherquarterfelteitherrelaxedoranxious.
Inthesynchronoustype,only20%felttired,whereasothers
feltgood(31%);coldorhungry(13.8%each);indifferent
(10.3%);orbusy,rushed,orrelaxed(6.9%each).
Self-Focused Habitual Occupation
In the second composite occupational type (Types 79),
whenthenatureoftheactivityrequiredpayingattentionto
oneself,forexample,whenperformingaself-caretask,time
movedfasterthanwhenattentiontoselfwascausedbyboredom.Self-careactivitieswerethemostfrequentlymentioned
inthefasterandtimelesstemporalities(36%45%)within
this configuration. Additional activities included sleeping,
eating,doingchores,walking,watchingTV,anddoingother
tasks.Theprimaryfeelingwastiredness(20.6%)orfeelings
ofdiscomfort(hunger,10%;anxious,10%;beingrushed,
7%),althoughothersfeltrelaxed(15.3%)andgood(12.8%).
Manyoftheseactivitiesweretransitionalonesfromsleepto
gettingreadyfortheday,whichisreflectedintheexperiences
studentsrelated.However,whenattentiontoselfwascaused
bydisengagement,timemovedslowly.Activitieswhentime
draggedwerealsoexperiencedasboring(33%)orassociated
withbodilydiscomfort;theseactivitiesincludedthefollowing:participatinginclass,working,ridinginavehicle,doing
self-care,anddoingotheractivities.Whentemporalitywas
experiencedasthesameasclocktime,thedominantactivity
was doing self-care (45%), and a range of other activities
includingeating,walking,doingchores,orwaiting.Forthe
most part, participants felt tired or sleepy (27%), whereas
others described their experience as okay, calm, or good
(29.1% combined) or alternatively bored (9.6%), rushed
(12.9%),alert(3.2%),orhungry(3.2%).Inthiscase,itis
notaself-consciousnesscausedbydifficultybutnecessitythat
directsthefocustoselfandstillwithflow-liketemporalities,
whereasinboredomordisengagementtimedrags.Forthe
mostpart,activitieslowinnovelty,emotionalandintellectual
engagement,focus,complexity,andskillbuthighonselffocuswereself-careactivitiesorthosethatallowedrejuvenation(sleep,walking,eating).
Emotionally Engaged Habitual Occupations
Inthenextsingletype(Type10),timedraggedinundemanding occupations where participation was deterred
becauseofboredomorfatigue.Sampleactivitiesincluded
participatinginclass,driving,parking,waiting,working,and
exercise. Not surprisingly, being sleepy or tired occurred
mostfrequently(38.5%),followedbybeingbored(30.8%),
orcoldandhungry.Inthiscase,thehighemotionalengagementwasnegative.

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Self-Focused and Emotionally Engaged

Habitual Occupations
Thenexttwotypes(Types11and12)demonstratedthat
positiveormatchingexperiencesinsimpleactivitiesthat
wereemotionallyengagingandrequiredafocusononeself
ledtotimebeingexperiencedeitherthesameasorfasterthan
theclock.Whentimewasperceivedaspassingthesameas
theclock,theprincipalactivitieswereeating(33.4%),doing
self-care(15.6%),watchingTV(11%),talking(11%),tryingtosleep(9%),ridinginavehicle(6.7%),ordoingother
tasks.Unlikeprevioustypes,participantsfelthappy,satisfied,
content,okay,oreager(totaling66.6%)duringtheseactivities, with fewer feeling tired (15.5%) or stressed (11%).
However,whentimepassedquickly,participantsweremost
likelysleepingortryingtosleep,performingself-careactivities,eating,orwatchingTV.One-thirdofthetimeinthese
activities,theyfelthappyor,asexpectedwhensleepwasthe
major activitytired (20%), relaxed (16%), or stressed
(20%)astheytriedtosleep.

chores,studying,attendingclass,copying,driving,writing,
working,ortalking.Whentimewasexperiencedasslower
thantheclock,feelingsincludedboredom(31.3%),impatience (18.8%), tiredness (18.8%), indifference (18.8%),
andrelaxation(6.3%).Whentimewassynchronous,participants described feeling less negative; instead, they
describedfeelingokay(28%),tired(24%),relaxed(16%),
andalertorhungry(8%each).
Low-Skill Intellectual Occupations
Bycontrast,timewasperceivedasflyingwhenanactivity
wasperceivedasnovel,intellectuallychallenging,drawing
theparticipantsfocuswithoutinvolvingemotions,focusing
ontheself,orrequiringskill(Type17).Exceptforthelevel
ofskillrequired,thisissimilartoatypicalflowconfiguration.
Inthistype,participantslosttrackoftimeduringtypical
studentactivitiessuchasstudying,writing,participatingin
class,reading,orwritingletters.Thequalitiesoftheactivity
ledmainlytofeelingsofbeingalert,busy,intent,andcontent,aswellasafewfeelingfrustratedorhurried.

Engaging Habitual Occupations

Intellectually Engaging Challenging Occupations

InType13,positiveandoftensocialexperiencesinsimple
yethighlyengaging(highintellect,self,emotionalengagement,andfocusonselfandtheactivity)activitiesledtolosingtrackoftime.Thisoccurredwhentalkingwithothers,
eatingameal,sleeping,e-mailing,orsinging.Participants
mostlydescribedhighlypositiveexperiencesfeelinghappy
(66.8%)ortired(33.3%).Thisappearstobeatypeofsocial
flow where timelessness emerges because of a highly
focusedsocialparticipation.

InTypes18and19,theparticipantswereintenselyimmersed
intheactivity(notemotionallyengagedorfocusedonthemselves),performingcomplex,novel,highlyfocused,andskilldemandingactivities,mostoftenstudying.Otherexamples
includedattendingclass,doingresearch,payingbills,reading
forpleasure,exercising,anddoingtaxes.Inthefirstconfiguration, the dominant feeling was described as good or
involved,andinthesecondconfigurationmostfeltfocused,
pleased,orproductive.Timewasperceivedasfasterortimelessinspeedinthistype.

Novel Habitual Occupations

Bycontrast,inthenexttype(Type14),novelty(lowrating
onallotherdimensions)pairedwithgenerallypositiveexperiencesduringmostlysolitaryactivitieswasnotsufficientto
speed time along. In this instance, time was perceived as
synchronouswiththeclockduringactivitiessuchaschores,
eating, watching TV, talking, or riding in a car or other
transportation.Participantsoftenfelthappy(26%),content
(14.8%),busy(14.8%),hurried(14.8%),ortiredandthirsty
(7.4%each).
Unengaging Challenging Occupations
Types15and16alsoreinforcethatactivitydemandsalone
donotleadtotimeaccelerations,especiallyifthepersons
capacitytoengageisimpededbyfatigueorotherfactors.
Novel,complex,andskill-demandingactivitiesthatdidnot
engage the persons emotions or intellect or focus on the
activityorselfledtotimebeingperceivedasmovingslowly
orthesameastheclock.Sampleactivitiesincludeddoing

Emotionally Engaging Challenging Occupations

Bycontrasttotheintellectuallyengagingactivities,inType
20,timealsoflowedinaspeedywayduringnovelcomplex
skill-requiringactivitiesthatengagedstudentsemotionally
anddrewtheirfocusandselfbutnotintellectualengagement.Again,thisappearedtobeasocialflowtype.Students
were often talking with others, doing chores, exercising,
attendingclass,ordrivingwhentheyratedtheactivitythis
way.Emotionsrangedfromrelaxed,good,andexcitedto
anxiousandtired.Predominantlypositiveemotions(happy,
calm,creative,orengrossed)weredescribedby85%ofthe
participantsinthistype.
Engaging Challenging Occupations
Types22through25madeupthethirdcompositeoccupationaltype.Althoughparticipantsdidnotfocusonthemselves, they became both emotionally and intellectually
engagedintheactivityathand.Thisconfigurationismost

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likeflowbecauseinflowthereisaself-transcendencecaused
by an absorption in the activity. Activities across all four
temporalities were productive complex activities such as
working,attendingclass,studying,andwriting.Inorderof
increasing speed, the predominant feelings reported were
thinkingorfrustration(21%each)intheslowtemporality;
happy,interested,orworried(20%,20%,and15%,respectively)inthesameasclocktime;anxiousorexcited(28%
and26%)infasterthantheclocktime;orhappy(42%)
andanxious(20%)inthelosttrackoftimecategory.It
appeared that it was three times as likely for time to be
perceivedasfasterthantheclockinthiscompositeoccupationaltype.Studentsdescriptionsoftheirfeelingsduringactivitiessuggestedthatthisincreasedspeedoftimein
passing appeared to be accompanied by students more
oftenfeelinghappyorexcited.

28.04,p<.01).Thisendofthecontinuum,morenoveland
complex activities that more fully engage participants,
includedawiderangeofactivitiessuchasworking,studying,
talking,writing,dancing,andothers.Qualitatively,feeling
stressedwasthedominantfeelingforthemajorityofstudents
intheslowtemporality,butthepercentagefeelingstressed
diminished (85% to 12%) as time was perceived to pass
morequickly.Forthemostpart,feelingswereincreasingly
more positive with participants feeling happy, focused,
excited, and productive as the felt experience of time
increasedinspeedtowardtimelessness.However,thefocus
onselfseemstobeassociatedwiththegreaterstressevident
in this composite occupational type. These occupations
appeared to challenge the participants capacity beyond a
comfortablemarginofskill.

Self-Focused Engaging Challenging Occupations

(High and Low Skill)

Discussion

ThesetofTypes26and27andfourthcompositeoccupationaltypes(Types2831)includedhighlynovel,complex,
attention-demanding,andengagingfeaturesthatvariedin
thelevelofskilldemanded.Theexperientialshiftfromthe
slowtothefastertemporalitiesappearedtoco-occurwitha
shiftinfeelingsfromhighlystressed(85%)intheslowtemporalitytofeelingmorepositivefeelingsandlessstressedin
fasterperceptionsoftimeinpassing.Thissuggestsacapacity
differenceinthetaskinwhichparticipantsfeelingsofbeing
taxedslowedtime.Thistaxingofcapacitymayaccountfor
thegreaterfocusontheself,notevidentinthethirdcompositeoccupationaltypemoresimilartoflow.Types26and27
andfourthcompositetypesdifferedonlyinthelevelofskill
demanded.Withnonewskillsrequired,Types26and27
producedasensethattimewaspassingthesameasclocktime
orfaster.Whennewskillswererequiredinthefourthcompositeoccupationaltype,theperceptionoftimepassingfaster
ortimelesslywas2to4timesasfrequentasperceptionsthat
timepassedslowlyorthesameasclocktime.Thisfourth
composite occupational type where students appear challengedandworkingattheedgeoftheirabilitieswasthemost
frequentcompositeoccupationaltype.Thisisnotsurprising
giventhechallengetostudentstomasternewmaterial.
InType26,timewasperceivedasthesameastheclock
andinType27timewasperceivedaspassingfasterthanclock
time.Bothtypesincludedactivitiesthatrequiredthinkingand
problemsolvingsuchasreading,writing,talking,studying,
working,e-mailing,ordoingsports.Themajorityofstudents
appearedtofeeltensionduringactivitiesinbothtypes,most
frequentlydescribinganxiety,frustration,orstress.
Thefinal,fourthcompositeoccupationaltypeisconstituted by the last four configurations (Types 2831; z =

AspredictedbytheDOiTmodel,mostperceivedaccelerationsoftimeinpassingoccurredinoccupationsratedhigh
complexity,highnovelty,andhighskilldemand.Yetthe
identificationoffourcompositeoccupationaltypes,where
anytemporalitycouldbepresentwiththesamesetoffactors,
suggeststhatthereareadditionalfactorsordimensionsthat
causeshiftsinperceivedtemporalitybeyondthoseincluded
inthemodel.Theshiftsintemporalitywithincomposite
occupationaltypesseemedtobelargelyattributabletoreadinessandcapacitytoengage,havingsufficientphysicaland
mentalenergy,performanceanxiety,andwhetherthereisan
experientialoccupationalmatchinginparticipation.
Thesedataalsoprovidedseveralinterestingsurpriseswith
regardtoinstancesthatwerenotnovel,complex,orchallengingbutstillproducedpleasanttimelessnessoraccelerations
oftime.Forexample,itwasinterestingthatasenseoftime
accelerationwasassociatedwithverylowloadactivities,such
asself-careandsleeping,aswellassociallyengagingactivities.
This may demonstrate the positive possibilities of flow in
rejuvenativeself-caretasks.Alternatively,theselowloadtypes
mayillustrateafactornotyetincludedinthemodeltime
pressure.Theseoccupationsmayreflecttwoopposingexperiencesoftimepressure.Insomeinstancesofself-care,instead
ofapositivesenseoftimelessnessparticipantsmayhavefelt
therewasnotenoughtimeavailableastheyrushedthrough
self-caretomoveontootheroccupations.Inthecaseofsleep,
thereappearedtobeamatchingofdesiredexperienceand
occupation,losingtrackoftimewhensleeping.
Inanotherunpredictedexampleofsubjectiveaccelerationoftimeinpassing,twotypeswerefoundinwhichhigh
emotionalengagementratherthanintellectualengagement
(withoutademandonskillsinasimpletaskorwithskill
requiredinacomplexandnoveltask)wassignificantlymore

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161

likelytoco-occurwithasenseoftimelessness.Thesemaybe
termedsocial flow.Thisfindingsuggeststhatnotonlyintellectualengagementbutalsointenseemotionalengagement,
despiteotheractivitydemands,increasedperceivedspeedof
timeinpassing.Thehighparticipationinsocialactivitiesin
this age group may be why a social flow configuration
emerged.Becauseparticipantswereyoungadults,thesefindingsmaynotapplytoyoungerorolderpopulations.
Itisalsoimportanttonotethatactivitydemandswere
notsufficienttoinducetimeaccelerationortimelessnessif
studentscapacityorengagementflagged.Despitethenovel,
complex,andskill-requiringnatureofsomeactivities,time
passedslowlyorthesameastheclockinsometypeswhen
participantsweredisengagedandreportedgreaterboredom,
impatience,andtiredness.Bycontrast,withallotherfactors
thesameasthetypejustdescribed,somestudentschooseto
beintellectuallyengaged,resultinginlosingtrackoftime.
Thesefindingssupporttheimportanceofconsideringthe
personscapacity(alertness,energy)andagencyinchoosing
toengageinanactivity.
Simplyput,basedonthesefindings,thereisinitialsupportforoccupational-basedstrategiessuchas(1)monitoring
clientsflagginginterestandfatigueduringparticipation,two
things that diminished positive subjective experience; (2)
affirming to clients the rejuvenative benefits and positive
experiencesofmindfulparticipationinself-careandother
simplehabitualactivities;(3)encouragingparticipationin
complexactivitiesthataremorelikelytoacceleratetheperception of time; (4) recommending social interactions as
equallyrichopportunitiesforflow-likeexperiences;and(5)
assistingclientsinunderstandingthatalthoughanxietymay
underlie new and challenging occupations, it can coexist
withpositivesubjectiveexperiences.
Although many of these findings support the DOiT
model, they also suggest modifications are necessary to
account for these time shifts. In addition to the factors
examinedhere,furtherresearchneedstoexploretheeffects
ofageandotherexperientialfactorssuchasstress,motivation, progress toward a goal, and individual personality
factorstocreateamorecomprehensiveunderstandingof
theinteractionsthatinfluenceperceptionsoftemporality.
Pursuingthislineofresearch,itmayeventuallybepossible
toexaminecommonconfigurationsoractivityprofilesthat
incombinationindailyroundscreatesatisfyingandhealthy
lifestyles. s

Acknowledgments
WeacknowledgetheassistanceofRuthZemke,EricAsaba,
andWenchunQu,atthetimeofthisprojectaprofessorand

researchassistants,respectively,attheUniversityofSouthern
California(USC),incollectingthesedata.Thisresearchwas
supportedbytheUniversityofWisconsinMadisonSchool
of Education and Graduate School, USC Occupational
TherapyProgram,andRuthZemke.

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