Subjective time dilation: Spatially local, object-based, or a global visual experience?

Abstract

Time can appear to slow down in certain brief real-life events-e.g. during car accidents or critical moments of athletes' performances. Such time dilation can also be produced to a smaller degree in the laboratory by 'oddballs' presented in series of otherwise identical stimuli. We explored the spatial distribution of subjective time dilation: Does time expand only for the oddball objects themselves, only for the local spatial region including the oddball, or for the entire visual field? Because real-life traumatic events provoke an apparently global visual experience of time expansion, we predicted-and observed-that a locally discrete oddball would also dilate the apparent duration of other concurrent events in other parts of the visual field. This 'dilation at a distance' was not diminished by increasing spatial separation between the oddball and target events, and was not influenced by manipulations of objecthood that drive object-based attention. In addition, behaviorally 'urgent' oddballs (looming objects) yielded time dilation, but visually similar receding objects did not. We interpret these results in terms of the influence of attention on time perception-where attention reflects general arousal and faster internal pacing rather than spatial or object-based selection, per se. As a result, attention influences subjective time dilation as a global visual experience.

Contextual influences of dimension, speed, and direction of motion on subjective time perception

“…Previous research had shown that looming stimuli elicited dilation in perceived interval length but that receding stimuli did not (New & Scholl, 2009;van Wassenhove et al, 2008;Wittmann et al, 2010). However, this previous research only simulated motion using 2-D stimuli.…”

“…The "3-D" stimuli were animations of depth-rendered balls expanding or contracting along linear perspective lines, in order to mimic motion in the depth plane the slow-block intervals were 900, 1,050, 1,200, 1,350, and 1,500 ms. For both the fast and slow blocks, three of the test durations were shorter than the standard duration, one was equal to the standard duration, and one was longer than the test duration. The test durations were shorter, on average, than the standard durations because test stimuli are often overestimated (New & Scholl, 2009). Although this may have affected the distribution of responses, the effect would be constant across conditions.…”

“…The first, second, third, and fifth images were stationary black stimuli presented for a standard duration. As in New and Scholl (2009), the standard duration was 900 ms in the fast blocks and 1,350 ms in the slow blocks. The fourth image was always a yellow stimulus presented for a test duration.…”

“…Looming signals of two-dimensional (2-D) stimuli (i.e., discs that expand in diameter) are associated with subjective time dilation, whereas receding signals (i.e., discs that contract in size) are not (New & Scholl, 2009;van Wassenhove et al, 2008;Wittmann, van Wassenhove, Craig, & Paulus, 2010). For example, Wittmann et al presented participants with trials consisting of three successive stationary stimuli at a standard duration, followed by a test stimulus that appeared to loom, recede, or remain stationary, followed by a standard stimulus.…”

The role of timing in the attentional boost effect

“…These include effects such as the pip and pop effect (Van der Burg, Olivers, Bronkhorst, & Theeuwes, 2008), the time dilation effect (New & Scholl, 2009), the accessory stimulus effect (Jepma, Wagenmakers, Band, & Nieuwenhuis, 2009), and the isolation effect (Fabiani & Donchin, 1995;Hunt, 1995). Most of these have been discussed in greater detail elsewhere (Swallow & Jiang, 2010).…”