Duration discrimination of acoustically defined intervals in the 1- to 8-sec range

Abstract

This experiment indicates how one's ability to distinguish between two acoustically defined durations, differing by .4 sec, diminishes as the shorter duration is increased from 1 to 8 sec. This effect is interpreted with a model in which one's "subjective temporal estimate" is a random variable whose variance is directly proportional to the actual stimulus duration, the constant of proportionality being about 6 msec" /sec.

Time perception and the filled-duration illusion

“…In stud ics where 5 is told that he would have to estimate the length of a tilled interval only after he had experienced the interval, the assumption has been that S's temporal estimate depends on the number and the "size" of the units of stored information (Ornstein, 1969;Burnside, 1971). The belief, that counting is a more primitive subjective process than estimating time qua time, is a reasonable one and accounts for many features of the data on time estimation, e.g., that variability of estimates increases with mean estimate (Treisman , 1963;Kinchla , 1972). However, it is not necessary to have a "counting" explanation oftime estimation, and we shall leave this issue open while we try to specify conditions which every explanation has to satisfy.…”

“…Ic , the slopes of the lines are much closer to I when the data are pooled within the 1-and S-sec stimulus intervals, in order to show the differences between the two groups of Ss. Figures 2a and 2b show the group average standard deviation of Table I Intercepts (a) and Slopes (b) Most theorization about time perception contains the notion that the apprehension of time consists of the cou nting of events or "pulses" which occur at some rate, which is either constant (Treisman, 1963) or Poisson ian (Creelman, 1962;Kinchla, 1972). In stud ics where 5 is told that he would have to estimate the length of a tilled interval only after he had experienced the interval, the assumption has been that S's temporal estimate depends on the number and the "size" of the units of stored information (Ornstein, 1969;Burnside, 1971).…”

“…We assume that a and v are independent of 1. In a recognition task in which a "short" interval, t, or a "long" interval, t' = t + d, is presented on each trial, one can assume that S sets a criterion, c, and responds "long" if and only if the encoded duration exceeds c (Kinchla, 1972). Ignoring terms containing d 2 and writing f'…”

Duration discrimination of empty time intervals marked by intermodal pulses

“…In general, discrimination models consider that the encoding of temporal extent is performed by a central timekeeper common to visual and auditory modalities (Allan, 1979). Most current models do assume that duration information is obtained through the accumulation, over the extent of the interval, of pulses originating in some central source (Abel, 1972;Creelman, 1962;Divenyi & Danner, 1977;Kinchla, 1972;Thomas & Brown, 1974;Treisman, 1963). Although some models (Creelman, 1962;Divenyi & Danner, 1977) have formally defined parameters representing nontemporal stimulus variables, their theoretical importance has remained very minor in view of the empirical evidence.…”

Programming experiments with pocket programmable calculators

“…An interval of time is demarcated by a display of "8888" at the start and end of the interval, and the subject decides whether it is of a specified length or longer (based on Kinchla, 1972). The response of "0" and R/S (if it is believed to be the specified length) or "1" and R/S (if longer) is followed by (optional) feedback, trial number, and the randomly selected stimulus interval of the next trial.…”