To count or not to count: the effect of instructions on expecting a break in timing

When a break is expected during a time interval production, longer intervals are produced as the break occurs later during the interval. This effect of break location was interpreted as a result of distraction related to break expectancy in previous studies. In the present study, the influence of target duration and of instructions about chronometric counting strategies on the break location effect was examined. Using a strategy such as chronometric counting enhances the reliability of temporal processing, typically in terms of reduced variability, and could influence how timing is affected by break expectancy, especially when relatively long target durations are used. In two experiments, results show that time productions lengthened with increasing value of break location at various target durations and that variability was greater in the no-counting than in the counting instruction condition. More important, the break location effect was stronger in the no-counting than in the counting instruction condition. We conclude that chronometric counting orients attention toward timing processes, making them less likely to be disrupted by concurrent nontemporal processes.