Weekly Digest #125: The Science Behind Always Being Late
Some of us are always punctual, whereas others seem to have more trouble arriving places on time. While cultural attitudes towards punctuality and tardiness do vary (1), research suggests that this behavior negatively impacts us both at work (2) and in school (3).
Image from Pixabay
However, despite the importance of this topic, there appear to be few evidence-based resources available on the subject. I (Yana) searched far and wide and while I did find interesting research on why some of us tend to often be late and how one might go about changing that habit, I did not find much of this research reflected in open-access, easily digestible formats such as blog posts. What I did find in those formats tended to be more opinion or common-sense based, with few links back to the actual research. In this digest I’ve compiled the most useful articles I could find, and in a future blog post I will dig into some of the interesting research I found along the way.
1) We Know Why You’re Always Late: Executive Function By Sumathi Reddy @rddysum
This article (originally from the Wall Street Journal, where it can’t be accessed without a subscription) describes how time underestimation can lead to tardiness, and also discusses personality characteristics and a few strategies on how to avoid tardiness.
2) This Is Why Some People Are Always Late by Susan Krauss Whitbourne Ph.D. @swhitbo
Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay
3) How to Overcome Chronic Lateness by Guy Winch Ph.D @guywinch
Image by Henry Nicholson from Pixabay
4) It Always Takes More Than “Just Two Minutes” by Michele Novotni, PhD @MicheleNovotni
Lateness is a common issue for those of us with ADHD. This article explores reasons and solutions for lateness within this special population.
5) Late Again? by Stephanie Reese Masson
“A faculty member wondered why her students were always late. So she asked them.”
While this is definitely not a scientific study, this article is an interesting discussion into the self-reported reasons why students are late to class.
References:
(1) Levine, R. V., West, L. J., & Reis, H. T. (1980). Perceptions of time and punctuality in the United States and Brazil. Journal of personality and social psychology, 38, 541-550.
(2) Rogelberg, S. G., Scott, C. W., Agypt, B., Williams, J., Kello, J. E., McCausland, T., & Olien, J. L. (2014). Lateness to meetings: Examination of an unexplored temporal phenomenon. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 23, 323-341.
(3) Fish, R. M., Finn, K. V., & Finn, J. D. (2011). The problems public schools face: High school misbehaviour in 1990 and 2002. Education Research and Perspectives, 38, 59-80.
Every Sunday, we pick a theme and provide a curated list of links. If you have a theme suggestion, please don’t hesitate to contact us! Occasionally we publish a guest digest, and If you'd like to propose a guest digest click here. Our 5 most recent digests can be found here:
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