How Emotions Affect Our Sense of Time
Author Information
Author(s): Lui Ming Ann, Penney Trevor B., Schirmer Annett
Primary Institution: National University of Singapore
Hypothesis
Do emotional stimuli influence our perception of time?
Conclusion
Emotional experiences can lead to an underestimation of time duration.
Supporting Evidence
- Participants were more likely to judge the second stimulus as shorter when preceded by an emotional image.
- The effect was consistent across different modalities of stimuli.
- Emotional stimuli captured attention, leading to fewer temporal pulses being accumulated.
Takeaway
When we feel strong emotions, like happiness or sadness, we might think time is passing faster than it really is.
Methodology
Participants completed a temporal discrimination task where they judged the duration of stimuli presented after emotional or neutral images.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the homogeneity of the sample (all participants were female college students).
Limitations
The study primarily involved female college students, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.
Participant Demographics
All participants were female college students with normal or corrected-to-normal vision.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.01
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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