The present research investigated attitudes of the university students towards the future, as well as the relation between future time orientations and self-construals. The sample consisted of 303 Middle East Technical University students with a mean age of 21. Four scales were administered to respondents: the Balanced Integration Differentiation Scale (BID) (imamoglu, 1998, 2002), the Positive Future Expectation Scale (PFES) (imamoglu, 2001), the Future Time Orientation Scale (FTO) (Gjesme, 1979), and the Attitudes Towards the Future Scale, which was developed for the current study. The BID Scale consists of interrelational and self-developmental orientation subscales. The high and low ends of the interrelational orientation subscale represent relatedness and separatedness, respectively. While the high and low end scores of the self-developmental orientation subscale represent individuation and normative patterning, respectively. Two dimensions of the Future Time Orientation Scale were used, which are involvement and anticipation. The former dimension measures the degree to which an individual focuses on future events, and the latter one measures how well an individual prepares for future events.
Factor analyses of the Attitude Towards the Future Scale yielded three factors, which are referred to as positive, fearful, and planful future orientations. Analyses indicated that this new measure has adequate validity and reliability. A short form of the scale was formed, which has similar metric qualities with the former one, and it was used in the following analyses.
With regard to self-orientations and gender, a MANOVA test indicated that future orientations were affected by the interrelational and self-developmental orientations but not by gender. Individuals with high interrelational orientation scores were found to have higher positive and planful orientation scores, and lower fearful orientation scores. Individuals with high self-developmental orientation scores were found to have higher planful orientation and lower fearful orientation scores. A second MANOVA indicated significant differences among the four self-types suggested by the BID Model (i.e., separated patterning, related patterning, separated-individuation, related-individuation) on future orientations. A clear pattern was observed, in which the related-individuated respondents, representing the optimal development by the BID Model, seems to have the most positive and planful orientations and the least fearful orientation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:METU/oai:etd.lib.metu.edu.tr:http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/3/12604999/index.pdf |
| Date | 01 June 2004 |
| Creators | Guler, Ayca |
| Contributors | Imamoglu, Olcay E. |
| Publisher | METU |
| Source Sets | Middle East Technical Univ. |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | M.S. Thesis |
| Format | text/pdf |
| Rights | To liberate the content for public access |
Page generated in 0.0014 seconds