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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 21, 2025

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

Published on: January 23, 2017

When did it happen? Verbal information about causal relations affects time estimation.

Carmelo P Cubillas¹, Helena Matute²

¹Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain.

Consciousness and Cognition

|July 26, 2023

Summary

People perceive causally linked events as closer in time. This study shows verbal information alone can create this temporal binding effect, influencing time perception.

Keywords:

Causal binding Causality Intentional binding Narrative information Temporal binding Time estimation Verbal information

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Perception Science

Background:

The perception of causality is often linked to temporal proximity.
Previous research indicates a bidirectional relationship between perceived causality and time.
Existing studies often involve motor actions or physical feedback.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate causal binding using only verbal stimuli.
To determine if verbal information about causality influences temporal judgments.
To test causality- and heuristic-based explanations of temporal binding.

Main Methods:

Six experiments were conducted.
Participants read lists of events and verbally provided causal information.
Participants estimated the time interval between two events.

Main Results:

Participants informed of a causal link between events judged them as closer in time.
This temporal binding effect occurred without motor actions or physical feedback.
Results support causality- and heuristic-based explanations.

Conclusions:

Verbal information about causality is sufficient to induce temporal binding.
The findings challenge explanations relying on sensory integration or intentionality.
This research deepens the understanding of how causality influences time perception.