Effect of restricted mobility and dominance on perceived duration

Perceived duration has been found to decrease with decreased cadence and with increased muscular effort. In this study, 64 volunteer college-student subjects who walked a circular track at a preferred tempo produced temporal judgments significantly longer when either the right knee and ankle or the left knee and ankle were restricted, compared to their production estimates when they walked without restriction. No difference in production estimates was found when the effect of restriction of one leg was compared with that of the other. Decreased perceived duration, thought to result from a combination of decreased cadence and increased muscular effort necessitated by the restriction of mobility, may be a mechanism for preserving system integrity in those whose mobility is restricted.