Tardiness Explained: There’s a Reason Why Some People Always Come in Late

For some people, being late may have seemingly become part of their system. Whether it is a dinner out or a conference, they just do not arrive on time. This, then, leads to the pressing question: why are some people always late?

According to Live Science, habitual tardiness is actually influenced by different factors. These may include personality and time perception, among others.

Personality

The BBC notes that those with punctuality issues tend to have certain personality traits, such as optimism, anxiety, low self-control levels, and liking for thrills. Differences in personality may also affect how one experiences time.

According to the BBC, Jeff Conte, a professor of psychology from the San Diego State University, conducted a 2001 study in which he categorized participants into Type A (those who had competitive and ambitious traits) and Type B (those who were reflective, creative, and adventurous).

Professor Conte asked these participants to assess how long one minute passed without using any clocks. Type A participants felt that one minute had passed after around 58 seconds, while Type B participants felt that the minute was over when 77 seconds had already passed.

Time Perception

Moreover, according to Hugo Spiers, who is a cognitive neuroscience professor from the University of London, there could be a brain mechanism that makes people come in late due to their underestimation of time.

The hippocampus, specifically, is a brain region that processes certain time aspects, such as how long it may take to accomplish a task and remembering when the task should be done.

Research has shown that hippocampus neurons serve as time cells that affect memory and perception of happenings. However, the reason behind such time underestimations remains a mystery.

Live Science notes that familiarity with a certain space could be a possible factor. In a 2017 study, professor Spiers asked 20 students who just moved to London to draw out a map of their own college district. He also asked them to project the travel time to different places.

As per Live Science, the students' perception of travel time decreased with their growing familiarity with the space. Professor Spiers says that when one is more familiar with a certain space, there is a tendency to take hassles and inconveniences for granted.

People who are tardy may also not take into consideration other tasks that are not directly related to travel. This may include the time it takes to get up in the morning.

Moreover, Emily Waldum, who is an adjunct professor from Campbell University and the lead author of a 2016 study, says that when a person has great experience doing something there is a tendency to underestimate the time it takes to accomplish it. In the 2016 study, professor Waldum also discovered that there are environmental factors, such as crowdedness and music, that may lead to time perception distortions.

Others, on the other hand, may have punctuality issues due to the deliberate delay of tasks. Tardiness may signify procrastination, which usually stems from a hard emotional relationship with the given task. What differentiates procrastination and lateness, however, is that lateness affects social relationships.

Dealing With Tardiness

According to PsychCentral, punctuality can be improved in a number of ways. Habitual tardiness can be reduced by setting timers, developing and sticking to a routine, and keeping actual reminders. These reminders could be jotted down in a notebook or on a calendar. It may also be helpful to leave much earlier or to prepare the night before.

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