The subjective size of visual stimuli affects the perceived duration of their presentation

Previous studies have shown that the perceived duration of visual stimuli can be strongly distorted by auditory stimuli presented simultaneously. In this study, we examine whether sounds presented separately from target visual stimuli alter the perceived duration of the target’s presentation. The participants’ task was to classify the duration of the target visual stimuli as perceived by them into four categories. Our results demonstrate that a sound presented before and after a visual target increases or decreases the perceived visual duration depending on the inter-stimulus interval between the sounds and the visual stimulus. In addition, three tones presented before and after a visual target did not increase or decrease the perceived visual duration. This indicates that auditory perceptual grouping prevents intermodal perceptual grouping, and eliminates crossmodal effects. These findings suggest that the auditory–visual integration, rather than a high arousal state caused by the presentation of the preceding sound, can induce distortions of perceived visual duration, and that inter- and intramodal perceptual grouping plays an important role in crossmodal time perception. These findings are discussed with reference to the Scalar Expectancy Theory.

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Detection performance for short visual stimuli depends on the duration of co-occuring auditory stimuli

Seeing and Perceiving ◽

10.1163/187847612x646479 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 25 (0) ◽

pp. 24

Author(s):

Roberto Cecere ◽

Benjamin De Haas ◽

Harriett Cullen ◽

Jon Driver ◽

Vincenzo Romei

Keyword(s):

Visual Perception ◽

Auditory Stimulus ◽

Visual Stimulus ◽

Visual Detection ◽

Visual Stimuli ◽

Detection Performance ◽

Detection Sensitivity ◽

Auditory Stimuli ◽

Sound Duration ◽

Perceived Duration

There is converging evidence that the duration of an auditory event can affect the perceived duration of a co-occurring visual event. When a brief visual stimulus is accompanied by a longer auditory stimulus, the perceived visual duration stretches. If this reflects a genuine sustain of visual stimulus perception, it should result in enhanced perception of non-temporal visual stimulus qualities. To test this hypothesis, in a temporal two-alternative forced choice task, 28 participants were asked to indicate whether a short (∼24 ms), peri-threshold, visual stimulus was presented in the first or in the second of two consecutive displays. Each display was accompanied by a sound of equal or longer duration (36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, 190 ms) than the visual stimulus. As a control condition, visual stimuli of different durations (matching auditory stimulus durations) were presented alone. We predicted that visual detection can improve as a function of sound duration. Moreover, if the expected cross-modal effect reflects sustained visual perception it should positively correlate with the improvement observed for genuinely longer visual stimuli. Results showed that detection sensitivity (d′) for the 24 ms visual stimulus was significantly enhanced when paired with longer auditory stimuli ranging from 60 to 96 ms duration. The visual detection performance dropped to baseline levels with 190 ms sounds. Crucially, the enhancement for auditory durations 60–96 ms significantly correlates with the d′ enhancement for visual stimuli lasting 60–96 ms in the control condition. We conclude that the duration of co-occurring auditory stimuli not only influences the perceived duration of visual stimuli but reflects a genuine sustain in visual perception.

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Spatial crowding distorts the perceived duration of visual stimuli

Journal of Vision ◽

10.1167/jov.20.11.627 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (11) ◽

pp. 627

Author(s):

Sofia Lavrenteva ◽

Ikuya Murakami

Keyword(s):

Visual Stimuli ◽

Perceived Duration

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Contrast gain changes affect the perceived duration of visual stimuli

Journal of Vision ◽

10.1167/7.9.376 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 7 (9) ◽

pp. 376-376

Author(s):

A. Bruno ◽

A. Johnston

Keyword(s):

Visual Stimuli ◽

Contrast Gain ◽

Perceived Duration

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Regularity ≠ symmetry: A comment on Makin, Rahman, and Bertamini (2020)

10.31234/osf.io/fqmce ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kyoshiro Sasaki ◽

Yuki Yamada

Keyword(s):

Time Perception ◽

Visual Stimuli ◽

Replication Study ◽

Visual Patterns ◽

Superficial Similarity ◽

Underlying Mechanisms ◽

Perceived Duration

Previous studies have shown that the perceived duration of symmetrical visual patterns is longer than that of asymmetrical ones. In a different context, regular visual stimuli have been found to be judged as lasting longer than irregular ones. A recent replication study reported that the effect of symmetry on time perception might not be robust; however, the study jumbled the effects of regularity and symmetry. The stimuli used in our previous study on the effect of regularity were qualitatively and quantitatively different from those used in the study addressing symmetry. Moreover, the hypothesized underlying mechanisms involved in the effects of regularity and symmetry were completely different. Taken together, the present commentary claims that combining these findings based on the superficial similarity of these phenomena would lead to flawed scientific discussions.

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Appreciation Contexts Modulate Aesthetic Evaluation and Perceived Duration of Pictures

Art & Perception ◽

10.1163/22134913-00002052 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 225-239 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Shihoko Arai ◽

Hideaki Kawabata

Keyword(s):

Time Perception ◽

Visual Stimuli ◽

Internal Clock ◽

Viewing Time ◽

Reproduction Task ◽

Aesthetic Evaluation ◽

Temporal Reproduction ◽

Perceived Duration ◽

Contextual Differences

When looking at visual stimuli, context often easily affects elements of perception and cognition such as aesthetic evaluation, memory, and time perception. However, the relationships between aesthetic evaluation and time perception as influenced by context are not fully understood. This study’s aim was to examine whether context can influence not only aesthetic evaluation but also time perception. To achieve this, a temporal reproduction task was used. Participants viewed stimuli in either an art context or a realistic context. Identical affective pictures were presented in one of three durations (2500 ms, 4500 ms, or 6500 ms) and the participants reproduced their perceived viewing time for each picture. The pictures were rated as more pleasant when viewed in the art context compared to the realistic context. Additionally, the perceived duration of identical visual stimuli differed according to the particular context. Thus, contextual differences were found to be attributed to different operations of a switch within the internal clock. In sum, context can influence both aesthetic evaluation and time perception.

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