Time in Perspective

• Published in: Psychological science Vol. 24; no. 8; pp. 1477 - 1486
• Main Authors: Gorea, Andrei, Hau, Janice
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.08.2013; Sage Publications; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Checkerboards; Child psychology; Cognition & reasoning; Cognition. Intelligence; Cognitive psychology; Distance Perception - physiology; Experimental psychology; Eye movements; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Illusion; Illusions - physiology; Male; Mathematical objects; Motion Perception - physiology; Perception; Perceptions; Psychological research; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Space Perception - physiology; Spatial perception. Time perception; Time; Time perception; Time Perception - physiology; Trajectories; Vision; Visual perception; Visual Perception - physiology; Young Adult; linear perspective; Kappa effect; visual perception; cognition; Ponzo illusion; perceived duration; speed/time constancy; time estimation; time perception; Human; Cognition; Experimental study; Velocity; Time perception; Vision; Stimulus duration; Perception
• ISSN: 0956-7976; 1467-9280; 1467-9280
• DOI: 10.1177/0956797612473486

Perceptions of time and space are subject to strong contextual effects. Like their physical counterparts, they appear to be bound together. The perceived spatial extent of a constant retinal extent increases with its perceived distance from the observer. The perceived duration of a moving object increases with its covered angular trajectory. It follows that the perceived duration of moving objects covering identical angular trajectories should also increase with distance. Using three-dimensionally rendered balls rolling for 600 ms, 900 ms, and 1,200 ms and covering 5.5°, 11°, and 22° trajectories in fronto-parallel planes of a linear-perspective scene, we showed that perceived duration dilates by up to 50% as the fronto-parallel plane of the rolling ball recedes from the observer. Such time dilation is mostly contributed to by the smaller size of the distant ball. As in a three-dimensional world, objects' sizes and their covered trajectories per time unit decrease with distance, and as the two factors lead to opposite perceived-duration effects, the results suggest a form of time constancy in a three-dimensional world.