Working with time: navigating the temporal jungle to capture change processes

Recent developments in psychological research (e.g., creation of more sophisticated statistical modeling approaches and computer software and hardware) have expanded the opportunities available to researchers to test their hypothesized relations between constructs and complex theoretical models. Yet, rather than serving as a source of inspiration and innovative thinking, for some, these opportunities may appear as an endless, confusing, and overwhelming jungle, and result in muddled or incomplete decision making. In an attempt to provide scholars with a map to guide them as they navigate the new possibilities to capture change processes in their theoretical and empirical work, we provide a comprehensive, non-technical, single source that discusses time and temporality. We will do this through two steps: first, we discuss key conceptual, theoretical, and methodological considerations related to temporality in constructs, relations, and longitudinal study designs; and second, we illustrate how these considerations inform approaches to data analysis with developmental and stable longitudinal processes. Ultimately, we hope that the paper provides researchers with a springboard for their future longitudinal research studies as we all seek to further understand psychological processes in sport, performance, and exercise settings.