John Cohen and the psychology of time

Abstract

The article discusses the writings on time psychology by John Cohen, Professor of Psychology at Manchester University between 1951 and 1979. His principal empirical contribution was the popularisation of the kappa effect, which showed that time judgements were influenced by spatial distance, which he found both in laboratory experiments and in studies in real-life settings. Cohen also wrote extensively about many aspects of the psychology of time, with emphases on time in literature, and time in myth. John Cohen exemplifies an academic who crossed with great facility between C.P. Snow’s ‘Two Cultures’, with rigorous laboratory studies in experimental psychology being contrasted with writings based on his extensive knowledge of the Classics and Arts.