Ratio Judgments of Empty Durations with Numeric Scales

Perception ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshitaka Nakajima ◽  
Seishi Nishimura ◽  
Ryunen Teranishi
Keyword(s):  
Time Perception ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
Subjective Duration ◽  
Straight Line ◽  
Empty Time Interval ◽  
General Aspects ◽  
Empty Time

A study is reported on the perception of empty time intervals marked by auditory signals. Nakajima's supplement hypothesis, which states that the subjective duration of a subjectively empty time interval is proportional to its physical duration plus a constant of ~80 ms, was examined quantitatively. Although this hypothesis has been used to explain various general aspects of time perception, from a global viewpoint, it has lacked the quantitative data necessary to describe the shape of the psychophysical functions mathematically. In the present study, subjects used two positive numbers to estimate the subjective ratio ( m: n) between the durations of two serial or separate empty intervals. The psychophysical functions for empty durations 50–600 ms long could be approximated by a straight line with a positive y-intercept, as predicted by the hypothesis. The effective range of the hypothesis could be extended to ~1200 ms. A power function (without any modifications) also gave good approximations. The reliability and validity of the supplement hypothesis are discussed.

A New Illusion of Time Perception

1991 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshitaka Nakajima ◽  
Gert Ten Hoopen ◽  
René Van Der Wilk
Keyword(s):  
Time Perception ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Rhythm Perception ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
Subjective Duration ◽  
Common Marker ◽  
Standard Duration ◽  
Empty Time Interval ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Empty Time

When two very short time intervals are presented serially by sound markers (in such a way that they share a common marker) the subject's duration judgments of the second time interval can be affected by the duration of the first interval. Such a conspicuous effect has not been reported in the literature. Standard empty time intervals of 120, 240, 480, and 720 msec were preceded by a neighboring empty time interval of various physical durations, and subjects adjusted a comparison empty time interval to the same subjective duration as these standards. We found clear underestimations of the standard duration when its physical duration was 120 msec. For example, when the preceding duration was 45 msec, the relative underestimation was about 40%. Because such a stable and remarkable underestimation appeared in a very simple situation, this phenomenon may be called a new illusion. Such an illusion did not appear when the time interval to be judged was succeeded by another time interval. At present we cannot explain the illusion, but in the general discussion we attempt to relate it to some findings in rhythm perception.

A New Illusion of Time Perception—II

1993 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gert Ten Hoopen ◽  
Gaston Hilkhuysen ◽  
Gert Vis ◽  
Yoshitaka Nakajima ◽  
Fumihiko Yamauchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Perception ◽  
Categorical Perception ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Rhythm Perception ◽  
The Third ◽  
Empty Time Interval ◽  
Fourth Experiment ◽  
Empty Time

When one very short empty time interval follows right after another, the second one can be underestimated considerably, but only if it is longer than the first one. We coined the term "time-shrinking" for this illusory phenomenon in our previous studies. Although we could relate our finding to some studies of rhythm perception, we were not able to explain the illusion. The present article presents our attempt to understand the mechanism that causes the time-shrinking. Four experiments are reported. The first one ruled out the possibility that the illusion results from a difficulty in resolving the temporal structure. The second experiment showed that the listener was not inadvertently judging the duration of the first interval instead of that of the second one. In addition, this experiment yielded more information about the time window within which the illusion occurs. The third experiment showed that forward masking of the sound markers, delimiting the empty durations, could not explain the illusion either. Furthermore, this experiment revealed a clue to the mechanism of time-shrinking: competition between expected and observed temporal positions. The fourth experiment further examined the temporal conditions that give rise to the illusion and showed that categorical perception plays a crucial role in the formation of the illusion. In the general discussion, we argue that the illusion is due to an asymmetric process of temporal assimilation.

Categorical Rhythm Perception as a Result of Unilateral Assimilation in Time-Shrinking

1998 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takayuki Sasaki ◽  
Yoshitaka Nakajima ◽  
Gert Ten Hoopen
Keyword(s):  
Total Duration ◽  
Considerable Change ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Rhythm Perception ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
Empty Time Interval ◽  
Method Of Adjustment ◽  
Empty Time ◽  
Perceptual Mechanism ◽  
Perceived Duration

In previous studies, we established an illusion of time perception that we called time-shrinking: an empty time interval, immediately preceded by a slightly shorter time interval, is underestimated. In the first experiment of the present study, we examined the perceived duration not only of the second interval (t2), but also of the first interval (tl). The empty time intervals tl and t2, making a total duration of 90,180, 360, or 720 ms, were presented such that the time ratio between them changed systematically. The points of subjective equality of tl and t2 were established by the method of adjustment. In the patterns typically susceptible to timeshrinking, that is, in which t2 was underestimated, tl was perceived almost vertically. In the second experiment, listeners had to bisect an empty duration of 180 ms, marked by sound bursts. The bisecting sound marker was positioned closer to the initial marker than to the final one. Thus, tl had to be shorter than t2 in order for a regular pattern to be perceived. In the third experiment, just-noticeable forward and backward displacements of the middle sound marker were measured by a transformed updown method. The prediction that the interval of uncertainty was closer to the initial than to the final sound marker was confirmed. The three experiments demonstrated the existence of unilateral temporal assimilation, and it is argued that this perceptual mechanism causes a category of 1:1 rhythms, despite a considerable change in temporal ratio between two contiguous time intervals.

A Model of Empty Duration Perception

Perception ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 485-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshitaka Nakajima
Keyword(s):  
General Theory ◽  
Processing Time ◽  
Just Noticeable Difference ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Subjective Duration ◽  
Standard Duration ◽  
Empty Time Interval ◽  
Time Required ◽  
The Given ◽  
Empty Time

An attempt to construct a general theory of duration perception is presented. First, four experiments are reported in which the supplement hypothesis, on the relation between two or three empty durations, was examined: the subjective duration of a subjectively empty time interval is directly proportional to its physical duration plus a constant of ~ 80 ms. This hypothesis could be applied to the ratio judgments of auditorily marked empty durations between 40 and 600 ms given serially. It could also explain the discrepancies between musically notated rhythms and the corresponding physical performed rhythms in very simple rhythm patterns consisting of three tones. Next, three earlier experiments on discriminations of empty durations marked by sound bursts were also reanalyzed. Within the range 40–600 ms, the absolute just noticeable difference of an empty duration was almost directly proportional to the standard duration plus a constant of about 80 ms. If the supplement hypothesis is accepted, this means that the relative just noticeable difference of the subjective duration was constant. Finally, the processing time hypothesis is presented: subjective duration is directly proportional to the physical time required to process the given empty duration. This processing is considered to begin with the detection of the first marker, and to end ~ 80 ms after the detection of the second marker.

Subjective Passage of Time during the Pandemic: Routine, Boredom, and Memory

KronoScope ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 260-271
Author(s):  
Marc Wittmann
Keyword(s):  
Social Isolation ◽  
Time Perception ◽  
Time Pressure ◽  
Routine Activities ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Present Moment ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
Memory Traces ◽  
Experience Of Time ◽  
Looking Back

Abstract Over the weeks of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, people typically reported that time had passed comparably quickly. Although time might have passed slowly during moments of anxiety and boredom for some, many felt a speeding up of the passing days and weeks. Here I attempt to explain the experience of time during the pandemic with cognitive models of time perception as related to the present moment (prospective time) and in hindsight (retrospective time). Retrospective judgments of time intervals rely on memory traces. The more contextual changes experienced during a given time interval, the longer duration is judged when looking back over past time intervals. More routine activities, as experienced by many during the pandemic, even when under time pressure, lead to fewer memorable events stored in autobiographical memory. This creates the impression that time has passed considerably more quickly.

Bilateral Assimilation of Two Neighboring Empty Time Intervals

2005 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryota Miyauchi ◽  
Takayuki Nakajima
Keyword(s):  
Time Perception ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
Subjective Equality ◽  
T1 And T2 ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Empty Time

In many sensory dimensions, assimilation of characteristics of perceived events can be found. In the present study, we examined whether assimilation appeared also in time perception, employing time intervals shorter than 300 ms marked by tone bursts. In Experiment 1, we measured points of subjective equality of two neighboring empty time intervals, t1 and t2. The perceived durations approached each other when the difference between t1 and t2 was small. That is, bilateral assimilation took place. In Experiment 2, we measured points of subjective equality of t1 in smaller steps and across a wider durational range than in Experiment 1. We found that t1 was overestimated slightly when it was a bit shorter than t2, and t1 was underestimated slightly when it was a bit longer than t2. The overestimation and the underestimation were considered as typical assimilation. The results also showed that the perception of t1 changed from assimilation to contrast when the difference between t1 and t2 exceeded the range -80 � t1 � t2 � 40 ms.

Time Estimation and Juvenile Delinquency

1994 ◽  
Vol 79 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1559-1565 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. T. Carrillo-De-La-Peña ◽  
M. A. Luengo
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Delinquency ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Time Perception ◽  
Time Estimation ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
Delinquent Activity ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Short Time ◽  
The Relationship

Certain empirical evidence suggests that subjects prone to delinquent activity may have faster internal clocks than others. To investigate the relationship between antisocial behavior and time perception and its dependence on the experimental time interval and method and on whether the subject is institutionalized we obtained verbal and production estimates of 5-, 15-, 30-, and 60-sec. intervals from 249 adolescents (156 school attenders and 93 institutionalized subjects) classified into 3 groups according to the intensity of their antisocial activity. Results provide no support for the hypothesis that overestimation of short time intervals is associated with either juvenile delinquency or institutionalization.

Structured Time and Subjective Acceleration of Time

1984 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 335-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles E. Joubert
Keyword(s):  
Time Perception ◽  
Free Time ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Subjective Time ◽  
Subjective Duration ◽  
Subjective Change ◽  
Change Perceptions ◽  
The Individual

The present paper gives some evidence that differences in subjective time acceleration with aging are correlated with differences in the extent to which time is structured for the individual, as opposed to free time. Lemlich's 1975 hypothesis relating this speeding up of time to the subjective duration of the time interval was only partially supported by the evidence. Subjective change perceptions of happiness were not correlated significantly with this phenomenon of time perception.

Individual and age-specific perceptions of time by adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 4-16
Author(s):  
V. Lisenkova ◽  
◽  
N. Shpagonova
Keyword(s):  
Time Perception ◽  
Interval Estimation ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
Age And Gender ◽  
Age And Gender Differences ◽  
Perception Of Time ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Estimation Of Time

The paper presents an experimental research of individual, age and gender specifics of time perception by adults from 18 to 75 years old (750 people). The methodological techniques used are: estimation, measuring and reproduction of time intervals within one minute. It was shown that when perceiving equal in value time intervals the respondents reveal opposite individual tendencies, manifested either in over- or under-estimation of time intervals, or in their under- or over-measuring, or in the absence of any particular tendency. Age and gender differences in the perception of time by adults were revealed. An analysis of the obtained data showed the presence of continuous micro-age shifts within the age range of 18-75 years, which is characterized by a rather complex, contradictory structure in the development of features of time intervals perception. On the border of early and middle adulthood at age 26, there is a slight increase in the accuracy of time interval estimation and measurement. On the border of middle and late adulthood, at age 45, there is already a sharp decline in the accuracy of time perception. Whether these age periods can be called critical or transitional cannot be unequivocally stated. Experimental data show that we cannot regard adulthood as a stationary, fully stabilized state where nothing happens anymore or as a period of gradual unfolding of involutionary processes only.

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