Malleability and fluidity of time perception

Abstract

Time perception is inherently subjective and malleable. We experience a wide range of time scales, from less than a second to decades. In addition, our perception of time can be affected by our attentional and emotional states. Previous psychological and neuroimaging studies have used several paradigms and methods to probe factors that influence time perception. Considering these factors facilitates approaches to improve time management and to enhance sensory experiences. This Collection of time perception studies includes reports that focus on stimulus property, physiological state, cross-modal interaction, attention, learning, age, and environment. These findings help to illuminate the complex mechanisms of time perception. Humans have no absolute sense of time. Time perception is fundamentally subjective and depends on one's experiences and circumstances. Moments of excitement and joy can seem dizzyingly faster, whereas moments of boredom and stress can feel interminable 1 , illustrating how attentional and emotional states affect time perception. Also, time perception has critical effects on many cognitive abilities and motor skills. For instance, we can play the piano with quick movements. Accurate temporal and rhythmic performance are important not only for playing music, but also for multisensory perception, language, and motor planning 2,3 . In addition, we may vividly recall memories from years ago. We have a broad range of time scales 4 . These timings appear to be underpinned by different neural mechanisms 5 . The brain navigates and processes time ranges from subsecond to year, highlighting its remarkable adaptability and complexity.The more often we pay attention to the passage of time, the longer we perceive time to be 6 . Our perception of the passage of time may vary as a function of age and education 7 or mood state 8 . This is probably consistent with the contextual-change hypothesis that the perceived duration of an event is affected by the number of contextual changes 9 . Extending this idea may explain how different age groups perceive time differently. For boys and girls, holiday adventures are hard to come by. Adults have many routine activities and time seems to pass at an accelerated pace. Relative to adults, children may use heuristic methods for duration estimation 10 . However, it should be noted that feeling the passage of time and estimating duration may employ different mechanisms of time perception 11 .A simple explanation for the perceived compression and expansion of time is the event-density hypothesis. This postulates that the number of events occurring during a certain period affects perception of time intervals 12 , assuming that the "internal clock" counts at a constant rhythm 13 . Directing attention to salient stimuli or engaging in complex tasks increases internal pulses, i.e., the density of events, resulting in the perception that time is passing quickly 6 . This hypothesis is consistent with the idea that cellular metabolism and the internal clock are intimately interc...