Categorisation of action speed and estimated event duration

Two experiments investigated the relationship between the words used to describe event actions and estimates of event duration, and whether this relationship might account for some of the variation found in duration estimates. Experiment 1 manipulated sets of action words within an account of a robbery, and replicated the Burt and Popple (1996, Experiment 1) finding that estimated duration decreased as the implied action speed of the robbery increased. Experiment 2 found considerable variation across individuals in the action words they used to describe a robbery, and that the number of action words used was negatively correlated with estimated duration. Taken together the experiments suggest that the interaction between individual differences in action categorisation and the use of inferences about the relationship between action speed and event duration, may account for some of the between-subject variation found in estimates of event duration.