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Marking Time *
Author(s) -
Howard Judith A.,
Hollander Jocelyn A.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
sociological inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.446
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1475-682X
pISSN - 0038-0245
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-682x.1993.tb00322.x
Subject(s) - temporality , epistemology , interpretation (philosophy) , sociology , attribution , psychology , social psychology , philosophy , linguistics
The authors argue that temporality is a significant dimension of social activity. The paper reviews the phenomenological experience of temporality, ways of conceptualizing time, and ways in which temporality may shape interpretation, and illustrates these themes through an empirical study in which approximately 80 subjects read and responded to one of two short stories. Themes of temporality were explored in the interview transcripts through references to temporal themes, temporality as an influence on causal and trait attributions, temporal chains, and other forms of interpretive cycles, as well as ways in which temporality is involved in the definition of other and “possible others.” On the basis of these patterns, we conclude that time is a crucial factor in shaping interpretations of social life.