Temporal Resources and the Time Perspective of Happiness in the Perception of Different Generations of Russians
EDN: NBDBZT
Abstract
The article is devoted to the theoretical understanding and empirical analysis of the temporality of happiness. The relevance of the work lies in the insufficient attention paid to the allocation of temporal resources for happiness in scientific research, even though latent temporal aspects are evident in most approaches to understanding happiness. The theoretical consideration of the temporal resources of happiness in the conceptualization, measurement, achievement, and construction of happiness has made it possible to identify key aspects of temporality that shape differences in ideas about happiness across generations. The author proposes a model of delayed happiness as an alternative temporal strategy. The empirical basis was the results of a multi-method sociological study of Russian residents aged 18-60: a standardized survey of three generations (n=1170) using an online questionnaire and a series of in-depth interviews (n=30) conducted in July–November 2024 in capital cities (Moscow, St. Petersburg), a metropolis (regional center, Yekaterinburg), and cities of the Sverdlovsk region. The novelty of the study lies in identifying subjective assessments of happiness across generations over time and the presence of an upward trajectory toward more positive assessments of subjective well-being in the future. The temporality of happiness involves contradictions between assessments of peak moments and current levels of happiness, as well as between expectations of a better future and the uncertainty of its realization. Narrative interviews allowed us to identify temporal paradoxes of happiness and the mechanisms for achieving happiness based on them, and to describe metaphorical images of the temporality of happiness. Conclusions are drawn about the manifestation of nonlinearity of time in the formation of multiple models of happiness, and the reflection in these models of generational characteristics of the perception of happiness.
Keywords
happiness,
temporality,
temporal resources,
delayed happiness,
generations,
felicitous emotions,
time perspective
Supporting agencies: The research wasfunded by the Russian Science FoundationNo. 24-28-00617, https:// rscf.ru/project/24-28-00617/.
About the Author
S. B. Abramova
Ural Federal University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Sofya B. Abramova — Candidate of Sciences (Sociology), Associate Professor, Department of Applied Sociology
Ekaterinburg
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For citations:
Abramova S.B. Temporal Resources and the Time Perspective of Happiness in the Perception of Different Generations of Russians. Sociology of Power. 2026;38(2):67-91. (In Russ.) EDN: NBDBZT
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