Temporal Landmarks and Their Effect: A Review and Prospects

Shang Ziqi, Zhang Jing, Zhong Ke

Foreign Economics & Management Vol. 46, Issue 09, pp. 89 - 105 (2024)  DOI:10.16538/j.cnki.fem.20231123.301

Summary

The role of time in the evolution of human civilization is of paramount importance. However, its intangible, dynamic, and abstract nature has led to a widespread challenge in accurately comprehending time across various disciplines. Recently, there has been a growing interest, both domestically and internationally, in exploring the impact of temporal landmarks as a novel concept for demarcating time intervals. The resulting research findings hold considerable significance for individuals and the society, operating at both micro and macro levels. This paper delves into the realm of temporal landmarks mainly within the fields of psychology and marketing, drawing from an extensive review of prior research findings. It provides clarity on the origin and essence of the concept of temporal landmarks, categorizes their various forms, and discusses empirical manipulation. Additionally, it presents a comprehensive analysis of the effect observed in existing temporal landmark research. Building upon this foundation, it outlines three distinct self-awareness-related psychological processes and their subsequent effects. This paper further analyzes future research directions, so as to provide implications for scholars conducting relevant research as well as insights for enterprises and policymakers.

Keywords

temporal landmark effect; self-awareness; self-recognition; self-experience; self-control