Emotion Effects on Timing: Attention versus Pacemaker Accounts

Abstract

Emotions change our perception of time. In the past, this has been attributed primarily to emotions speeding up an “internal clock” thereby increasing subjective time estimates. Here we probed this account using an S1/S2 temporal discrimination paradigm. Participants were presented with a stimulus (S1) followed by a brief delay and then a second stimulus (S2) and indicated whether S2 was shorter or longer in duration than S1. We manipulated participants' emotions by presenting a task-irrelevant picture following S1 and preceding S2. Participants were more likely to judge S2 as shorter than S1 when the intervening picture was emotional as compared to neutral. This effect held independent of S1 and S2 modality (Visual: Exps. 1, 2, & 3; Auditory: Exp. 4) and intervening picture valence (Negative: Exps. 1, 2 & 4; Positive: Exp. 3). Moreover, it was replicated in a temporal reproduction paradigm (Exp. 5) where a timing stimulus was preceded by an emotional or neutral picture and participants were asked to reproduce the duration of the timing stimulus. Taken together, these findings indicate that emotional experiences may decrease temporal estimates and thus raise questions about the suitability of internal clock speed explanations of emotion effects on timing. Moreover, they highlight attentional mechanisms as a viable alternative.

Clock Speed as a Window into Dopaminergic Control of Emotion and Time Perception

“…There is some evidence of differential effects of pleasant and unpleasant stimuli on timing and this evidence includes an underestimation effect for both pleasant (Gable & Poole, 2012) and unpleasant stimuli (Lui et al, 2011). The engagement of attentional processes is one explanation for these exceptions to the overestimation effect for arousing emotional stimuli: Perhaps under some circumstances individuals withdraw attention from unpleasant images and spend longer inspecting pleasant images (e.g., 'pleasure seeking').…”

“…Unlike the Fayolle et al (2015) study, however, the effects of reward were a fixed duration and did not increase proportionally with the durations being timed. As a consequence, the authors argued for an effect on attention that influences the saliency of a stimulus and how quickly participants start timing a signal rather than an arousal effect that influences clock speed throughout the trial (e.g., Folta-Schoofs et al, 2014;Lake et al, 2014, in press;Lui et al, 2011). In juxtaposition, the effects of footshock stress reported by Meck (1983) reflect a constant state of arousal because the electric shock was being delivered continuously, in a non-pulsed fashion during both training and testing sessions, but for different treatment groups in each phase of the experiment (see Fig.…”

Time, Emotion and the Embodiment of Timing

“…Earlier closure of the attentional switch therefore increases the number of pulses included at the beginning of the stimulus duration, but this addition number of pulses staying the same (additive effect) whatever the total duration. Consequently, some researchers have surmised that attention processes contribute to the effects of negative, high-arousal emotion on time judgments, as threatening signals attract attention more quickly (Lui, Penney & Schirmer, 2011). For example, Lui et al (2011) showed that when individuals were shown an emotional picture from the IAPS just before the comparison duration, it captured their attention to the detriment of the timing of the subsequent signal.…”

“…Consequently, some researchers have surmised that attention processes contribute to the effects of negative, high-arousal emotion on time judgments, as threatening signals attract attention more quickly (Lui, Penney & Schirmer, 2011). For example, Lui et al (2011) showed that when individuals were shown an emotional picture from the IAPS just before the comparison duration, it captured their attention to the detriment of the timing of the subsequent signal. The problem is that threatening signals are assumed to both attract attention (faster orienting attention), and modulate the organism's arousal level.…”

The Effect of Mindfulness Meditation on Time Perception

“…Time estimation is based on the number of pulses accumulated, with more pulses leading to an increase in perceived duration. Arousal produces an overestimation of time due to an increase in the pacemaker's speed (Maricq, Roberts, & Church, 1981;Meck, 1983;Wearden & Penton-Voak, 1995; although see Lui, Penney, & Schirmer, 2011). In contrast, if attention to the task distracts from the processing of temporal information, this opens the switch and some pulses are lost.…”