Role of Personal and Methodological Factors in Time Perception

Abstract

The study examined the accuracy of time perception in relation to chronological age, gender, method of estimation, and duration. Three different methods of assessing subjective time perception, viz., interval estimation, time estimation, and interval reproduction were used in the study. The duration involved were 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, and 4 min for interval estimation and time estimation, and 15 s, 30 s, 45 s, and 60 s for interval reproduction. The participants comprised of 60 males and 60 females in the age range of 10–80 years. The statistical techniques used were 4-way (method x interval x gender x age) ANOVA for repeated measurements, followed by post-hoc analysis of means. The results showed that accuracy of time perception was influenced by the method used for assessing perceived time, the duration involved, and age of the subjects, while it was unrelated to their gender. Assessment using interval estimation method resulted in overestimation of the given duration, while the use of time estimation method resulted in underestimation. Both these results indicated that there is shrinkage in the internal representation of time. The results also showed that there is a sharp decrease in the accuracy of time perception after the age of 60 years.