An integrated theory of prospective time interval estimation: The role of cognition, attention, and learning.

Abstract

A theory of prospective time perception is introduced and incorporated as a module in an integrated theory of cognition, thereby extending existing theories and allowing predictions about attention and learning. First, a time perception module is established by fitting existing datasets (interval estimation and bisection and impact of secondary tasks on attention). The authors subsequently used the module as a part of the adaptive control of thought--rational (ACT-R) architecture to model a new experiment that combines attention, learning, dual tasking, and time perception. Finally, the model predicts time estimation, learning, and attention in a new experiment. The model predictions and fits demonstrate that the proposed integrated theory of prospective time interval estimation explains detailed effects of attention and learning during time interval estimation.

Humans don’t time subsecond intervals like a stopwatch.

“…Our first analysis in this experiment was a repeat of that applied in Experiments 1 and 2, comparing σ² Increase (calculated here by taking the average of four changes in σ² Observed : From single to both splitshort and split-long conditions, at standard durations of both 300 and 600 ms) to c. However, as our primary interest was no longer the SET stopwatch, but rather the slowing-pacemaker stopwatch variant proposed by Taatgen, van Rijn and Anderson (2007), we now additionally simulated this model using Matlab. Taatgen, van Rijn and Anderson provided the following formula describing how the inter-tick interval (t) of the clock evolves over time (pg.…”

“…This result makes it unlikely that the model, as currently specified, can fully account for human timing in the sub-second range. However, we felt it important to also consider a recently proposed variant (Taatgen et al, 2007) which embeds a stopwatch timing component within the broad-ranging "adaptive control of thought-rational" (ACT-R) architecture. Although the authors did not conceive their work to be applicable to sub-second intervals (H. Van Rijn, personal communication), the timer they propose might reasonably be adopted by others as a suitable mechanism to explain the pattern of data in our initial experiments.…”

“…Acerbi, Wolpert & Vijayakumar, 2012, Taatgen & Van Rijn, 2011, for the use of two standards / bimodal priors in interval timing) pacemaker models like SET at short intervals. The last experiment simultaneously examined the more complex predictions derived from a modified counter module, proposed by Taatgen et al (2007), who suggest that pulses become more distributed as the interval duration increases. These latter predictions are outlined in more detail later in the article, prior to describing the relevant experiments.…”

“…Clearly no means of estimating the noise accrued via switch operations could have come up with an estimate that exceeded the total variability associated with the task. Legend to Figure 4 Schematic illustration of an internal stopwatch with a slowing pacemaker (Taatgen, van Rijn & Anderson, 2007). Timing of a split interval is shown (300/500/300 ms for the first segment/break/second segment, respectively) above ten simulated trials.…”

Time in Consciousness, Memory and Human-Robot Interaction

“…Multimodal duration processing by artificial agents. -Time perception as a secondary task [52]. Explore the coupling of interval timing, attention, perception and learning in the accomplishment of dual tasks.…”