Multiple choice

AgentGood morning, Packham's Shipping Agents. Can I help you?

JacobOh yes, I'm ringing to make enquiries about sending a large box, a container, back home to Kenya from the UK.

AgentYes, of course. Would you like me to try and find some quotations for you?

JacobYes, that'd be great. Thank you.

AgentWell, first of all, I need a few details from you.

JacobFine.

AgentCan I take your name?

JacobIt's Jacob Mkere.

AgentCan you spell your surname, please?

JacobYes, it's M, K, E, R, E.

AgentIs that M for mother?

JacobYes.

AgentThank you, and you say that you will be sending the box to Kenya?

JacobThat's right.

AgentAnd where would you like the box picked up from?

JacobFrom college, if possible.

AgentYes, of course. I'll take down the address now.

JacobIt's Westall College.

AgentIs that W, E, S, T, A, L, L?

JacobYes ... college.

AgentWestall College. And where's that?

JacobIt's Downlands Road, in Bristol.

AgentOh yes, I know it. And the postcode?

JacobIt's B, S, 8, 9, P, U.

AgentRight ... and I need to know the size.

JacobYes, I've measured it carefully and it's 1.5 metres long ...

AgentRight.

Jacob0.75 metres wide ...

AgentOK.

JacobAnd it's 0.5 metres high, or deep.

AgentGreat. So I'll calculate the volume in a moment and get some quotes for that. But first, can you tell me, very generally, what will be in the box?

JacobYes, there's mostly clothes.

AgentOK.

JacobAnd there's some books.

AgentOK. Good. Um ... anything else?

JacobYes, there's also some toys.

AgentOK, and what is the total value, do you think, of the contents?

JacobWell, the main costs are the clothes and the books. They'll be about 1,500 pounds, but then the toys are about another two hundred, so I'd put down 1,700 pounds.

AgentOK, right. Now, obviously insurance is an important thing to consider, and our companies are able to offer very good rates in a number of different all-inclusive packages.

JacobSorry, could you explain a bit more?

AgentYes, sorry. There are really three rates, according to the quality of insurance cover. There's the highest, comprehensive cover, which is the Premium rate, then there's the Standard rate, and then there's the Economy rate. That one will only cover the cost of the contents second hand.

JacobOh, I've been stung before with economy insurance, so I'll go for the highest.

AgentMm-hm. And can I just check: would you want home delivery, or delivery to a local depot, or would you want to pick it up at the nearest port?

JacobThe port would be fine. I've got transport at that end.

AgentFine. And will you be paying by credit card?

JacobCan I pay by cheque?

LecturerToday, I'm going to be talking about time. Specifically, I'll be looking at how people think about time, and how these time perspectives structure our lives. According to social psychologists, there are six ways of thinking about time, which are called personal time zones.

LecturerThe first two are based in the past. Past positive thinkers spend most of their time in a state of nostalgia, fondly remembering moments such as birthdays, marriages and important achievements in their life. These are the kinds of people who keep family records, books and photo albums. People living in the past negative time zone are also absorbed by earlier times, but they focus on all the bad things: regrets, failures, poor decisions. They spend a lot of time thinking about how life could have been.

LecturerThen, we have people who live in the present. Present hedonists are driven by pleasure and immediate sensation. Their life motto is to have a good time and avoid pain. Present fatalists live in the moment too, but they believe this moment is the product of circumstances entirely beyond their control; it's their fate. Whether it's poverty, religion or society itself, something stops these people from believing they can play a role in changing their outcomes in life. Life simply is, and that's that.

LecturerLooking at the future time zone, we can see that people classified as future active are the planners and go-getters. They work rather than play, and resist temptation. Decisions are made based on potential consequences, not on the experience itself. A second future-orientated perspective, future fatalistic, is driven by the certainty of life after death and some kind of judgement day, when they will be assessed on how virtuously they have lived and what success they have had in their lives.

LecturerOkay, let's move on. You might ask: how do these time zones affect our lives? Well, let's start at the beginning. Everyone is brought into this world as a present hedonist. No exceptions. Our initial needs and demands, to be warm, secure, fed and watered, all stem from the present moment. But things change when we enter formal education: we're taught to stop existing in the moment and to begin thinking about future outcomes.

LecturerBut did you know that every nine seconds a child in the USA drops out of school? For boys, the rate is much higher than for girls. We could easily say, Ah well, boys just aren't as bright as girls, but the evidence doesn't support this. A recent study states that boys in America, by the age of twenty-one, have spent 10,000 hours playing video games. The research suggests that they'll never fit in the traditional classroom, because these boys require a situation where they have the ability to manage their own learning environment.

LecturerNow, let's look at the way we do prevention education. All prevention education is aimed at a future time zone. We say, don't smoke or you'll get cancer; get good grades or you won't get a good job. But with present-orientated kids, that just doesn't work. Although they understand the potentially negative consequences of their actions, they persist with the behaviour, because they're not living for the future; they're in the moment, right now. We can't use logic, and it's no use reminding them of the potential fall-out from their decisions or previous errors of judgement. We've got to get in their minds just as they're about to make a choice.

LecturerTime perspectives make a big difference to how we value and use our time. When Americans are asked how busy they are, the vast majority report being busier than ever before. They admit to sacrificing their relationships, personal time and a good night's sleep for their success. Twenty years ago, 60% of Americans had sit-down dinners with their families, and now only 20% do. But when they're asked what they would do with an eight-day week, they say, Oh, that'd be great. They would spend that time labouring away to achieve more. They're constantly trying to get ahead, to get towards a future point of happiness.

LecturerSo, it's really important to be aware of how other people think about time. We tend to think, Oh, that person's really irresponsible, or, That guy's power-hungry. But often what we're looking at is not fundamental differences of personality, but really just different ways of thinking about time. Seeing these conflicts as differences in time perspective, rather than differences of character, can lead to more effective cooperation between people, and get the most out of each person's individual strengths.