The Pace of Life
Adapted from "The Pace of Life in 31 countries" by Robert V. Levine
It can be measured in simple ways, such as noting the accuracy of public clocks and
the speed of postal clerks
1. When I was teaching in Brazil some years ago, I noticed that students there were
more casual about arriving late for class than those in the United States. I was puzzled
by their tardiness, since their classroom work revealed that they were serious students
who wanted to learn. I soon found, however, that they were likely to be late not only in
arriving for class but also in leaving it afterwards. Whatever the reason for the students'
lateness, they were not trying to minimize their time in the classroom.
2. In my classes in the U.S., I do not need to wear a watch to know when class is over.
My students gather their books at two minutes before the hour and show signs of anxiety
if I do not dismiss them on time. At the end of a class in Brazil, on the other hand, some
students would slowly drift out, others would stay for a while to ask questions, and some
would stay and chat for a very long time. As I observed the students during the year, I
came to realize that this casual approach to punctuality was a sign of differences
between American and Brazilian attitudes toward the pace of life.
3. My experience in Brazil inspired an ongoing research. Its aim was to develop ways
of measuring the pace of a culture and to assess peoples’ attitudes towards time.
Every traveler has observed the pace of life in different parts of the world, and even
from place to place within a single country differs. We collected data from six countries,
focusing in each country on the largest city and a medium-size city.
4. We examined three indicators of speed in each city. First, we measured the
accuracy of outdoor bank clocks in the main downtown area. Second, we measured
the average walking speed of randomly chosen pedestrians over a distance of 100
feet. The measurements were made on clear summer days during business hours.
Third, as an indicator of working pace, we measured the speed of service provided by
postal clerks.
5. Our results revealed a number of significant differences between the six countries.
The Japanese cities rated the highest on all three measures: they had the most
accurate bank clocks, the pedestrians there walked the fastest, and their postal clerks
provided the quickest service. In contrast, the Indonesian cities had the least accurate
public clocks and the slowest pedestrians. The slowest postal clerks were found in the
Italian cities, where buying a stamp took nearly twice as long as it did in Japan.
6. What impressed us most about these findings was the high correlation between the
three pace-of-life measures for each city. The accuracy of the bank clocks strongly
correlated with walking speed. There is also a strong correlation between clock
accuracy and the speed of the postal clerks. The high correlation between these
measures supports the notion that a city has a distinct pace, which can also be seen in
the behavior of its inhabitants.
7. These measures not only show us differences between cultures, but they may also
explain relations between the pace of life of a city and the psychological and physical
health of its residents. One interesting finding was the association between fast pace
of life and a high incidence of heart disease. One possible explanation for this
association is that a stressful, time-pressured environment leads to unhealthy
behaviors, such as cigarette smoking and poor eating habits, which in turn increase
the risk of heart disease
8. However, this connection does not work for everybody. For some individuals time
pressure is not always stressful; it may also be challenging and energizing. The
optimal pressure seems to depend on the characteristics of the task and the
personality of the individual. Given that, heart disease remains the largest cause of
death. The most important personal goal is to fit yourself to the type of environment
that is beneficial for you.
Bibliography/Works Cited: Robert V. Levine and Ara Norenzayan: "The Pace of Life in 31
Countries" Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 30, No. 2, 178-205 (1999)
The Pace of Life - Comprehension Questions
1. What can we infer from paragraph 1 about American students’
punctuality?
Generally, they are / are not late for classes.
2. How does the author characterize Brazilian students?
_____________________________________________________
3. Brazilian students “were not trying to minimize their time in the
classroom”?
What did they do? (refer to paragraph 2)
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
4. The purpose of paragraphs 1 and 2 is to
a. show how late Brazilian students are in contrast to American
ones.
b. give examples that illustrate the idea of different approaches
to time.
c. emphasize the punctuality of American students as opposed
to Brazilians.
d. Introduce the idea that people treat time casually.
5. List the goals of the research.
a. _________________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________________
6. Although the pace of life is not the same throughout the world, it is not
really different within a certain country.
True / False
Support your answer by quoting from the text.
________________________________________________________________
7. The research material was collected in
a. American cities of various sizes.
b. six different capitals.
c. cities of various sizes in various countries.
d. the largest cities in six different countries.
8. List three indicators of speed in each city.
a._________________________________________________________
b._________________________________________________________
c._________________________________________________________
9. Japanese, Indonesian and Italian cities are mentioned in Paragraph 5 to
illustrate _______________________ in their pace of life (TWO WORDS).
10. State the conclusion of the research.
___________________________________________
11. Paragraph 7
Which measures is the author referring to?
___________________________________________________________
12. Which connection is not universal?
___________________________________________________________
13. What is the author’s advice in relation to the pace of life and the increasing
threat of heart disease?
___________________________________________________________
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