Sequential effects in time perception

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Experimental Psychology

Background:

• Sequential effects describe faster stimulus naming after easy stimuli compared to difficult ones.
• The time criterion account suggests sequential effects may relate to time perception processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if sequential effects in naming tasks are explained by time perception.
• To test the hypothesis that altered time perception after naming difficulty influences subsequent naming speed.

Main Methods:

• Participants named easy and difficult stimuli (words/nonwords).
• Following each naming trial, participants estimated a 1-second interval by pressing a button.
• Time perception was measured by the duration participants perceived after naming stimuli of varying difficulty.

Main Results:

• Time intervals perceived after naming difficult stimuli were longer than those after naming easy stimuli.
• This indicates that the difficulty of naming stimuli impacted subsequent time perception.

Conclusions:

• Carryover effects in time perception appear to underlie sequential effects in naming tasks.
• The findings support the time criterion account by linking naming difficulty to altered temporal judgments.