Time perspectives and wisdom during zero-COVID: the boundary effect of emotions

The zero-COVID-19 policy was proven to be effective in preventing the transmission of COVID-19 but has had significant impacts on people’s emotions, time perspectives, and decision-making. The current study performed five rounds of data collection (N = 1095) to investigate the time perspectives, emotions, and wisdom experiences of individuals under the zero-COVID-19 policy implementation. Hierarchical linear modeling and generalized linear hypothesis testing revealed that a balanced time perspective is the most powerful time perspective predictor of wisdom and that emotional diversity is the most powerful emotional predictor of wisdom. Moreover, emotional diversity exhibits distinct boundary effects. More precisely, among emotional indicators, “non-pessimism” is the most reliable predictor of wisdom. The moderation effect analysis showed that heightened emotional diversity amplifies the beneficial effect of a balanced time perspective on wisdom. All these effects are consistent across the zero-COVID period. This finding suggests that maintaining a balanced time perspective during a major public crisis might contribute to wise decision-making.