Time gap in the estimation of short duration with auditory presentation

Abstract

Experimental studies on the perception of time using the ‘psychophysical method of reproduction’ with visual stimuli of various lengths have been reported (12, 13, 14, 15). In such studies the field has been limited to investigations concerning intervals and in a few studies to the estimation of duration. But data on temporal duration appear to be too scanty to permit definite conclusions. There are few studies with auditory presentation. One such reports an important finding: ‘An increase of intensity of sound leads to overestimation of its duration and to obtain the same relative effect of over-estimation the level of intensity should be stronger than the extent of duration’ (10). A report on the perception of the duration of sound of increasing intensity indicates that temporal perception is not independent of the processes which intervene during the time perception (5). In an investigation where observers were required to estimate five time-durations, one by one, it was concluded that estimates rise approximately linearly with visual presentation though a reverse trend appeared in case of auditory presentation (3). The effect of auditory and visual background on the estimation of duration show that under control conditions, durations of 1, 2, and 4 sec, were overestimated, 8 sec. was reproduced correctly while 16 sec. was underestimated (7).