Abstract
[Extension of Future Time Perspective and Attitude Towards Present, Past and Future in Normal and Socially Handicapped Adolescents. Influence of Experimentally-Induced Success and Failure]
The early social and familly environment has been considered a major factor influencing structural aspects of the individual’s goal-setting behavior, as well as his affective attitude towards his goals. Success and failure experiences also have been related to the individual’s later actions and planning. Although rooted in childhood experiences, goalsetting assumes a critical importance in adolescence. In this context, the extension of future time perspective of 70 normal and 70 socially handicapped adolescents was assessed by means of the Motivational Induction Method before and after an experimentally induced success or failure The affective perception of their present, past, and future was investigated with the Time Attitude Scale The hypothesis of a shorter future time perspective for socially handicapped subjects was not supported. However, it was found that normal subjects state significantly more motivational objects situated within a three-year period. The attitudes displayed by the socially handicapped adolescents towards their future were as positive as those of the normal adolescents, supporting earlier studies. The attitudes of the first: group towards past and present were found to be significantly more negative. Moreover, only among normal adolescents were perceptions of present, past and future highly correlated In both groups, future was perceived as less positive following a success experience. Future lime perspective (extension) of the socially handicapped subjects only was affected by the experimental conditions.