Time went by so slowly: Overestimation of event duration by males and females

Loftus, Elizabeth F.; Schooler, Jonathan W.; Boone, Stanley M.; Kline, Donald W.

doi:10.1002/acp.2350010103

Cited by 115 publications

(109 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Increased estimation of duration People tend to overestimate the durations of both positive (Frederickx et al 2013) and negative (Loftus, Schooler, Boone, & Kline 1987b) higharousal events, sometimes by a factor of 2 or 3 (Buckhout, Figueroa, & Hoff, 1975). If two objects move at the same perceived speed, but one does so (seemingly) for longer, then people would experience it as having moved farther.…”

Section: Considering Some Alternative Explanationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

When anticipation beats accuracy: Threat alters memory for dynamic scenes

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Threat frequently leads to the prioritization of survival-relevant processes. Much of the work examining threat-related processing advantages has focused on the detection of static threats or long-term memory for details. In the present study, we examined immediate memory for dynamic threatening situations. We presented participants with visually neutral, dynamic stimuli using a representational momentum (RM) paradigm, and manipulated threat conceptually. Although the participants in both the threatening and nonthreatening conditions produced classic RM effects, RM was stronger for scenarios involving threat (Exps. 1 and 2). Experiments 2 and 3 showed that this effect does not generalize to the nonthreatening objects within a threatening scene, and that it does not extend to arousing happy situations. Although the increased RM effect for threatening objects by definition reflects reduced accuracy, we argue that this reduced accuracy may be offset by a superior ability to predict, and thereby evade, a moving threat.

show abstract

Section: Considering Some Alternative Explanationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

When anticipation beats accuracy: Threat alters memory for dynamic scenes

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The modal response was 60 sec with other responses clustered at 10, 15, 20, 30,45, 90, and 120 sec. This reliance on benchmark responses, previously noted by Loftus et al (1987) (comprising 76.8% of all responses in the present study), suggests guessing by respondents to fulfill the social obligation to account for their memory of the earthquake episode. This tendency also contributes to high variances and a certain degree of sloppiness in field-generated data.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…In fact, 77.8 % of our respondents described themselves using only the first four descriptors on the 8-point arousal scale (calm to uneasy). Loftus et al (1987) reported that the analysis of their subject arousal data was confined to the first two levels of the arousal scale used in their design. If a person is trying to justify hislher knowledge of the earthquake by retrospectively overestimating the time he/she spent in it, this person probably would also retrospectively downgrade hislher level of anxiety or arousal.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating the duration of an earthquake: Some shaky field observations

Buckhout

Fox

Rabinowitz

1989

Bull. Psychon. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Data were collected from 246 people on their retrospective recall of the duration of a moderate earthquake in New York state, along with estimates of arousal, alertness, and attention to media. Duration of the quake was pervasively overestimated, with significantly higher overestimates from people in the area where the most intense quake occurred. Correlation of duration estimate with reported arousal was not significant. Responses were interpreted as the result of a desire of respondents to appear as credible observers of a complex episode.At 6:07 a.m., Saturday, October 19, 1985, a minor earthquake struck the general region of Westchester County, New York. Its epicenter was pinpointed near the town of Ardsley, New York (lat. 73°50'N; long. 4O o 50'W). The quake, measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale, was felt in widely scattered portions of the Northeast in varying degrees of intensity. According to the LamontDoherty Geological Observatory in Palisades, New York, the quake could be felt for approximately 30 sec at the epicenter.Within the first few days after the quake, we began to collect data on duration estimates of the length of the quake given by those who were awake during, or those who were awakened by, the event. This was the beginning of the program to study subjective reactions to natural phenomena and to evaluate the social cognitive bases of duration estimates -duration being defined as the interval between two successive events. In this paper, we address the question of whether the lessons learned in laboratory research can be generalized to the real-life task of judging the reliability of time estimates.Estimation of duration takes place when memory is used either to associate a moment in the past with a moment in the present or to link two past events (Fraisse, 1984). An individual's estimation of the passage of time rarely coincides with the even and mechanical hands of a clock. There is great variability among stimulus modalities, between subjects, and even within a subject at different times. More intense stimuli are judged as lasting longer than less intense stimuli. These findings have been demonstrated for auditory stimulation ), visual stimulation (Goldstone, lllamon, & Sechzer, 1978, and vibrotactile stimulation (Ekman, Frankenhaeuser, Berglund, & Waszak, 1969), suggesting that there is a general relationship betweenThe authors wish to thank Mary Knoff (Mercy College) and Wes Kayson (lona College) for their invaluable help in gathering data at their colleges. We further wish to thank staff members of the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory who gave us a much-needed education in research on earthquakes. Reprints of this article may be obtained from the senior author of The Center for Responsive Psychology, Brooklyn College. CUNY, Brooklyn, NY 11210. stimulus intensity and duration estimates. Our own experience with eyewitness testimony over the years suggests that precise clock accuracy is the last thing on our minds when we go over the duration of past events. If the time estimate is give...

show abstract

“…Loftus, Schooler, Boone, and Kline (1987) used a crude stress measure in their time perception study. The experiment was based on the observed tendency for eye-witnesses of crimes to overestimate remembered duration of the event.…”

Section: Historical Overview Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Effect size for duration judgment ratio (θ) was estimated from preliminary research and studies in the literature (Langer, Wapner, & Werner, 1961;Loftus, Schooler, Boone, & Kline, 1987;Sarason & Stoops, 1978). Effect size for biological stress measures was estimated from previous research using speech stressors and progressive muscle relaxation (Schuefele, 1999).…”

Section: Sample Sizementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of stress and relaxation on time perception

Chavez¹

2003

PsycEXTRA Dataset

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to a penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number. Changes in time perception during and following experiences of stress and relaxation are commonly reported, but little is known about the direction and nature of any time perception changes. In this experimental study, men and women ages 18 to 79 were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: stress (n = 39) -speech preparation and presentation, relaxation (n = 38) -a progressive muscle relaxation exercise, or control (n = 39) -listening to a biography on tape. Multiple measures of time production, time estimation, perceived rate, and attention to time domains (past, present, and future) were made before and after the experimental phase. Retrospective time estimates were made after the experimental phase. Self report, physiological, and biochemical measures of stress were used to evaluate response to the experimental conditions, and results were consistent with increased stress in the stress condition and increased relaxation in the relaxation condition. Measures of duration judgment were relatively consistent within individuals with larger variance from person to person. Some of the individual variance was associated with gender and age with women having generally larger duration judgment ratios (subjective/objective time) than did men (t(110)=2.91, p<.01) and age was significantly correlated with duration judgment ratio. Time was reported to pass slower than usual during relaxation (t(34) = 5.37, p<.01), but time spent relaxed was remembered as significantly shorter than time spent in the control activity (F(2,108) = 9.88, p <.01). Stress led to increases in subjective to objective time ratio (t(37) = 2.34, p <.05), and time following a period of stress was reported to pass quickly. Attention to the present was related to lower reported distress, whereas attention to the past was positively correlated with self-reported distress. These data imply that changes in time perception may reflect changes in experiences of stress or relaxation. Also, interventions to increase focus of attention on the present may be helpful to reduce distress. SUBJECT TERMS Department of Medical and Clinical PsychologyChanges in time perception during and following experiences of stress and relaxation are commonly reported...

show abstract

Time went by so slowly: Overestimation of event duration by males and females

Cited by 115 publications

References 6 publications

When anticipation beats accuracy: Threat alters memory for dynamic scenes

When anticipation beats accuracy: Threat alters memory for dynamic scenes

Estimating the duration of an earthquake: Some shaky field observations

Effects of stress and relaxation on time perception

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About