Time perception

About: Time perception is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1918 publications have been published within this topic receiving 87020 citations.

Cognitive resources that help us tick: recruitment of three often postulated core executive functions in human prospective timing

Abstract: IntroductionTime is ubiquitous to human experience and shapes our everyday life (Zakay, 2012). It is, therefore, no wonder that the psychology of time is "a seminal topic of psychological science, and although it entered a phase of decline and even moribund neglect, the past several decades have seen a prominent renaissance of interest" (Hancock & Block, 2012, p. 267).In particular, prominent recent research avenue is related to various aspects of time processing, specifically, how timing is affected by a cognitive load (e.g., Block, Hancock, & Zakay, 2010; Brown, 2006, 2008, 2010; Brown, Collier, & Night, 2013; Dutke, 2005; Ogden, Salominaite, Jones, & Fisk, 2011).It is well known that in retrospective paradigm (remembered duration), participants are unaware of upcoming judgments about the length of intervals, thus, in such temporal processing, memory processes seem to be involved as higher load leads to longer timerelated judgments. However, in a prospective paradigm (experienced duration), participants are aware of the fact that a duration estimation has to be made, therefore, attentional resources seem to be involved as higher load leads to shorter time-related judgments (Block & Zakay, 1996; Block et al., 2010; Grondin, 2008).With an aim to understand human timing capabilities, a plethora of explanatory realms has occurred. Some suppose that duration of time is coded as an intrinsic property of non-dedicated neural activity (Irvy & Schlerf, 2008). However, the majority assume an existence of some kind of an "internal clock" represented by a dedicated (modular) neural mechanism and by the involvement of a network of various neural areas, such as basal ganglia, presupplementary and supplementary motor areas, cerebellum and prefrontal cortex (Allman, Teki, Griffiths, & Meck, 2014; Grondin, 2010; Irvy & Schlerf, 2008).One of the most prominent prospective theories of the internal clock, SET (Scalar expectancy theory), postulated by Church, Gibbon, and Meck in 1984, supposes the existence of three fundamental processes - clock, memory, and decision. Specifically, at the onset of the to-be-timed interval, a pacemaker emits pulses at a relatively constant rate. These pulses are accumulated, transferred into the working memory store and compared to those in the reference memory. Based on this comparison, a decision is made, producing an estimate of elapsed time (Allman et al., 2014; Church, 1984; Gibbon, Church, & Meck, 1984; Zakay & Block, 1995).However, as it was stressed, e.g., by Brown (2008) and Block et al. (2010), SET arose from the animal timing research with lack of cognitive perspective, thus, regarding nascent findings, there exist attempts to connect basic assumptions of SET with prominent cognitive theories and processes, such as attention. In accordance, Block and Zakay (1995) have developed the augmented version of the SET called an attentional-gate model (AGM). Their modification is based on the addition of the attention gate component. This component is situated between pacemaker and accumulator (cognitive counter). Such model is graphically depicted in Figure 1 (see version A of the model).Metaphorically speaking, in a low temporal relevance situation, the gate mediating the flow of pulses narrows due to the reduction of resources allocated to timing. In particular, if less amount of attention is directed to time (fewer resources are allocated to time due to focusing simultaneously on the nontemporal task), the gate opens narrowly, allowing to pass a smaller amount of pulses. Consequently, the smaller amount of pulses is accumulated and compared (and vice versa). This situation leads to distorted duration judgments. Specifically, depending on the task, under-estimation, under-reproduction, but over-production of intervals occur. This is phenomenologically reflected in the proverb: 'Time flies when you are having fun' (Block & Zakay, 1996; Block & Zakay, 2008; Block et al. …

Distracted to a fault: Attention, actions, and time perception

Abstract: Abstract In the last years, it has become general consensus that actions change our time perception. Performing an action to elicit a specific event seems to lead to a systematic underestimation of the interval between action and effect, a phenomenon termed temporal (or previously intentional) binding. Temporal binding has been closely associated with sense of agency, our perceived control over our actions and our environment, and because of its robust behavioral effects has indeed been widely utilized as an implicit correlate of sense of agency. The most robust and clear temporal binding effects are typically found via Libet clock paradigms. In the present study, we investigate a crucial methodological confound in these paradigms that provides an alternative explanation for temporal binding effects: a redirection of attentional resources in two-event sequences (as in classical operant conditions) versus singular events (as in classical baseline conditions). Our results indicate that binding effects in Libet clock paradigms may be based to a large degree on such attentional processes, irrespective of intention or action-effect sequences. Thus, these findings challenge many of the previously drawn conclusions and interpretations with regard to actions and time perception.

Group congruent labelling leads to subjective expansion of time

Abstract: Given top-down effects on perception, we examined the effect of group identity on time perception. We investigated whether the duration of an ambiguous sound clip is processed differently as a func...

Dissociable Effects of Emotional Stimuli on Perception and Decision-Making for Time

Abstract: Previous research has demonstrated that negative emotional faces dilate time perception, however, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are not fully understood. Previous attempts focus on the pacemaker-accumulator model of time perception, which includes a clock, memory, and decision-making stage, wherein emotion affects one of these stages; possibly by increasing pacemaker rate via arousal, increasing accumulation rate via attention, or by biasing decision-making. To further investigate the stage(s) that emotion is affecting time perception we conducted a visual temporal bisection task with sub-second intervals while recording 64-channel electroencephalogram (EEG). To separate the influence of face and timing responses the temporal stimulus was preceded and followed by a face stimulus displaying a neutral or negative expression creating three trial-types: Neg→Neut, Neut→Neg, or Neut→Neut. The data revealed a leftward shift in bisection point (BP) in Neg→Neut and Neut→Neg suggesting an overestimation of time. Neurally, we found the face-responsive N170 component was larger for negative faces and the N1 and contingent negative variation (CNV) were larger when preceded by a negative face. We also found an interaction effect between condition and response for the late positive component of timing (LPCt) and a significant difference between response (short/long) in the neutral condition. We conclude that a preceding negative face affects the clock stage leading to more pulses being accumulated, either through attention or arousal, as indexed by a larger N1, CNV, and N170; whereas viewing the negative face second biased decision-making leading to 9short9 responses being less likely, as evidenced by the LPCt.