Browsing by Subject "time perception"
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(2022)The aim of the study. Subjective time perception is prone to distortions, and one of the factors affecting it is a person's emotional state. Anticipation of unpleasant and threatening situations is of particular importance for coping. Previous research on the relationship between anticipation of unpleasant situations and perceived duration has shown conflicting results. Moreover, the experimental designs have been inadequate. The present study examines the effect of anticipating an unpleasant image and individual anxiety tendency on duration perception. The results are discussed in relation to the attentional gate model, which suggests that the influence of emotionality on perceived duration may be mediated through arousal or attentional allocation. Methods. Subjects (n=39) completed a temporal discrimination task in which the duration of a neutral visual cue stimulus was compared to previously learned short and long comparison durations. The colour of the stimulus indicated whether or not it was followed by an unpleasant image. The experiment consisted of three experimental conditions: (1) an unpleasant image was not anticipated nor presented, (2) an unpleasant image was anticipated but not presented, and (3) an unpleasant image was anticipated and presented. Psychometric functions were generated from the responses to obtain the points of subjective equality. The point refers to a duration that the person cannot distinguish as short or long. The effect of anticipating an unpleasant image and individual self-reported anxiety tendency on the points of subjective equality was analysed using multilevel linear modelling. Results. Anticipation of an unpleasant image led to longer perceived duration. Those reporting more anxiety perceived the duration of the cue stimulus to be longer than those reporting less anxiety. However, anxiety tendency did not moderate the effect of unpleasant image anticipation on perceived duration. Conclusions. Interpreted according to the attentional gate model, the perception of time passing slower is explained by arousal induced by the anticipation of an unpleasant situation, which speeds up the internal clock. In addition, anxious individuals are more aroused during anticipation, which is why they perceive time to pass more slowly than others. The role of attention in the relationship between anticipation of an unpleasant situation and duration perception seems to be more pronounced in situations where the threat is more biologically significant.
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(2022)Objective: Qualitative studies have suggested depressed people may experience temporal disturbances in time perception, feeling 'stuck in time'. However, behavioral evidence using temporal perception tasks has thus far not found evidence of a relationship between depression and time perception. A recent study suggested time perception is not merely a result of mood and attention but also driven by mental imagery. In the present study, I investigate whether mental imagery and depression separately or interactively affect the perception of time. Methods: 73 participants took part in the study. Prior to the start of the experiment, the participants’ depression was assessed using Beck's Depression Inventory. The participants were then instructed on the verbal time estimation task: they watched a 7, 10 or 16 second video of either a quickly or slowly moving starfield and estimated its duration on a visual scale of 4 to 20 seconds. While watching the video, they were instructed to imagine moving either slow, fast or just to passively watch the video. Each participant performed a total of 36 trials. The experiment used a repeated measures design, and a linear mixed-effects model was used for statistical analysis. Results and conclusion: Differences in BDI scores, measuring depression, did not predict differences in time estimates. Within participants, however, mental imagery strongly affected perceived time: Slow imagery caused temporal underestimation compared to fast and passive viewing. These findings replicated previous work. However, a significant interaction was observed between depression and visual imagery on estimated time: The more depressed the participant was, the more temporal underestimation was observed during slow imagery conditions.
Now showing items 1-2 of 2