Family members' temporal perception and mood during an open heart surgery waiting experience

Abstract

This study described how 25 subjects experienced time and mood during a waiting experience for relatives undergoing open heart surgery. Using the 40 Second Production Method to measure "time estimation", sixty percent of the total group "overestimated" waiting time. Significant differences found between groups were associated with education, gender and prior waiting experience in the setting. Using the Time Metaphor Test, 22 subjects perceived time passage as "static". No significant correlation was found between Time Metaphor scores and reading time. The mood for the group as a whole tended to be more negative as compared to normative samples. Subjects who perceived time as passing more swiftly, scored significantly higher on "confusion" and "fatigue", and lower on "vigor" compared to "static" subjects. While findings are interpreted with caution given the small sample, the results of the study suggest that altered time perception may be adaptive to the stress associated with anticipated crisis.