Effects of temporal features and order on the apparent duration of a visual stimulus

The apparent duration of a visual stimulus has been shown to be affected by its speed. For low speeds, apparent duration increases linearly with stimulus speed. This effect has been ascribed to the number of changes that occur within a visual interval. Accordingly, a higher number of changes should...

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Main Authors: Aurelio eBruno, Inci eAyhan, Alan eJohnston
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2012-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00090/full
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author Aurelio eBruno
Inci eAyhan
Alan eJohnston
Alan eJohnston
author_facet Aurelio eBruno
Inci eAyhan
Alan eJohnston
Alan eJohnston
author_sort Aurelio eBruno
collection DOAJ
description The apparent duration of a visual stimulus has been shown to be affected by its speed. For low speeds, apparent duration increases linearly with stimulus speed. This effect has been ascribed to the number of changes that occur within a visual interval. Accordingly, a higher number of changes should produce an increase in apparent duration. In order to test this prediction, we asked subjects to compare the relative duration of a 10 Hz drifting comparison stimulus with a standard stimulus that contained a different number of changes in different sessions. The standard could be static, drifting at 10 Hz or mixed (a combination of variable duration static and drifting intervals). In this last condition the number of changes was intermediate between the static and the continuously drifting stimulus. For all standard durations, the mixed stimulus looked at least as significantly compressed (~20% reduction) as the static one (no changes) relative to the drifting stimulus. We also observed that when the standard was displayed first, it appeared compressed relative to when it was displayed second with a magnitude that depended on standard duration. These results are at odds with a model of time perception that simply reflects the number of temporal features within an interval in determining the perceived passing of time.
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spelling doaj.art-d0a927a98347499e9c80baf6b36b5ac42022-12-21T19:48:14ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782012-03-01310.3389/fpsyg.2012.0009021755Effects of temporal features and order on the apparent duration of a visual stimulusAurelio eBruno0Inci eAyhan1Alan eJohnston2Alan eJohnston3University College LondonUniversity College LondonUniversity College LondonUniversity College LondonThe apparent duration of a visual stimulus has been shown to be affected by its speed. For low speeds, apparent duration increases linearly with stimulus speed. This effect has been ascribed to the number of changes that occur within a visual interval. Accordingly, a higher number of changes should produce an increase in apparent duration. In order to test this prediction, we asked subjects to compare the relative duration of a 10 Hz drifting comparison stimulus with a standard stimulus that contained a different number of changes in different sessions. The standard could be static, drifting at 10 Hz or mixed (a combination of variable duration static and drifting intervals). In this last condition the number of changes was intermediate between the static and the continuously drifting stimulus. For all standard durations, the mixed stimulus looked at least as significantly compressed (~20% reduction) as the static one (no changes) relative to the drifting stimulus. We also observed that when the standard was displayed first, it appeared compressed relative to when it was displayed second with a magnitude that depended on standard duration. These results are at odds with a model of time perception that simply reflects the number of temporal features within an interval in determining the perceived passing of time.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00090/fullPsychophysicsspeedperceived durationstimulus ordertemporal change
spellingShingle Aurelio eBruno
Inci eAyhan
Alan eJohnston
Alan eJohnston
Effects of temporal features and order on the apparent duration of a visual stimulus
Frontiers in Psychology
Psychophysics
speed
perceived duration
stimulus order
temporal change
title Effects of temporal features and order on the apparent duration of a visual stimulus
title_full Effects of temporal features and order on the apparent duration of a visual stimulus
title_fullStr Effects of temporal features and order on the apparent duration of a visual stimulus
title_full_unstemmed Effects of temporal features and order on the apparent duration of a visual stimulus
title_short Effects of temporal features and order on the apparent duration of a visual stimulus
title_sort effects of temporal features and order on the apparent duration of a visual stimulus
topic Psychophysics
speed
perceived duration
stimulus order
temporal change
url http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00090/full
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