Field dependence-independence differently affects retrospective time estimation and flicker-induced time dilation

Field dependence-independence (FDI) is a stable dimension of individual functioning, transversal to different cognitive domains. While the role of some individual variables in time perception has received considerable attention, it is not clear whether and how FDI influences timing abilities. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that FDI differently affects timing performance depending on whether the task requires cognitive restructuring. Participants were assessed for FDI using the embedded figures test (EFT). They performed a prospective timing task, reproducing the duration of a flickering stimulus, and a retrospective timing task, estimating the duration of the task. We expected performance of field-dependent (FD) and field-independent (FI) individuals not to differ in the prospective task, since restructuring of task material is not needed to reproduce the stimulus duration. Conversely, we predicted that FI individuals should be more accurate than FD ones in the retrospective condition, involving restructuring skills. Results show that while both FD and FI individuals under-reproduced the stimulus duration in the prospective task, only FD participants significantly underestimated the duration of the timing task in the retrospective condition. These results suggest that differences across FD and FI individuals are apparent in timing only when the task requires high-level cognitive processing; conversely, these differences do not affect basic sensory processing.

Short-term effects on temporal judgement: Sequential drivers of interval bisection and reproduction

Our prior experiences provide the background with which we judge subsequent events. In the time perception literature one common finding is that providing participants with a higher percentage of a particular interval can skew judgment; intervals will appear longer if the distribution of intervals contains more short experiences. However, changing the distribution of intervals that participants witness also changes the short-term, interval-to-interval, sequence that participants experience. In the experiment presented here, we kept the overall distribution of intervals constant while manipulating the immediately-prior experience of participants. In temporal bisection, this created a noted assimilation effect; participants judged intervals as shorter given an immediately preceding short interval. In interval reproduction, there was no effect of the immediately prior interval length unless the prior interval had a linked motor command. We thus proposed that the immediately prior interval provided a context by which a subsequent interval is judged. However, in the case of reproduction, where a subsequent interval is reproduced, rather than seen, the effects of contextualization are attenuated.