Time Perception Scale: Measurement invariance between the United States and Japan

Abstract

The Time Perception Scale (Niiya, 2019, Journal of Happiness Studies) measures people's perception of time as zero-sum (i.e., the perception that they are taking time away from others, that they are offering time to others, or that others are taking away time from them) and nonzero-sum (i.e., the perception that time spent on others is time spent on themselves). This scale was validated in Japan, but whether people from a non-Asian culture also perceive time as nonzero-sum remained unknown. We tested the measurement invariance of the Time Perception Scale with 189 Americans and 240 Japanese and examined its correlations with psychological well-being and cultural self-construals. We confirmed the configural, metric, and partial scalar invariance of the scale and also found that zero-sum and nonzero-sum time perceptions were differently associated with basic needs satisfaction, life satisfaction, and interdependent self-construal in both cultures. Nonzero-sum time perception may provide a new possibility where a concept derived from East Asian philosophy can contribute to our psychological well-being.