Overview

Temporistics models personality through temporal experience structuring — how individuals organize past, present, future, and eternity.

Type Structure

24 types based on permutations of 4 aspects across 4 positions:

  • English shorthand: EPNF, NPFE, etc.
  • Aspect letters: P = Past, N = Present, F = Future, E = Eternity
  • Position is determined by order from 1st through 4th

Aspect Categories and Thinking Processes

Each aspect directs attention toward a corresponding thinking process:

  • Past types ($P$): Prioritize causal reasoning — analyzing origins, chronology, drawing lessons from precedents, and verifying causal links (“Why?”).
  • Present types ($N$): Prioritize situational-experiential reasoning — direct contact with the moment, assessing immediate resources and conditions here and now.
  • Future types ($F$): Prioritize scenario-probabilistic reasoning — modeling probabilistic trajectories, constructing alternative paths, and goal-setting in time.
  • Eternity types ($E$): Prioritize meaning-making and sense-making processes — formulating overarching frames, relating the part to the whole, and seeking enduring significance (“Why and to what end?”).

See Also