Culture shapes how we experience time.

Our environment reinforces our time habits.

Repeated time cues can make the clock hard to ignore.

This summer, I traveled across Europe, including visits to Vienna and Salzburg. Both are beautiful cities, but as a psychologist who studies time, I found myself becoming fascinated by something much more mundane: the church bells.

Regardless of where I seemed to be in either city, I could hear time passing.

On the hour, the bells would ring. Fifteen minutes later, one ring. At the half hour, two. At 45 minutes past the hour, three. And then, before you knew it, the bells were ringing again to announce the arrival of another hour.

Now, I should admit that I am what I call a classic “clock person.” I have written before about our relationship with clocks and how constantly monitoring time may interfere with our happiness. But even I started to become a little edgy from the continuous reminders.

Another 15 minutes gone.

It made me wonder: What happens when you grow up surrounded by these signals?

Clock Time Versus Event Time

Psychologists and anthropologists have long observed differences in how cultures relate to time.

Some cultures tend to be more clock-oriented. Activities are organized around specific times, schedules, deadlines, and expectations of punctuality. Germany, Switzerland, and Austria are often associated with this orientation.

Other cultures are relatively more event-oriented. In countries such as Italy, Spain, and France, there may be greater flexibility around when something begins or ends. The activity itself, and the people involved in it, can play a larger role in determining when it is time to move on.

Of........

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