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Odd Ways The Mind Warps Time
Friday, May 4, 2012 13:34
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Time, arguably our most precious nonrenewable resource, has a slippery nature in our minds. Sometimes it flows quickly. In other situations, it trickles at an unbearably slow pace. And, to the horror of many, it speeds as we age.
Why should something as reliable as a ticking clock be perceived with such inconsistency? Claudia Hammond, science author and broadcaster, explores this question in her new book, Time Warped (Canongate Books Ltd, 2012), out today (May 3).
She presented some of her findings at the British Psychology Society Annual Conference here in April, where she won the Society's Public Engagement and Media Award.
The present
Humans are remarkably good at measuring time in general. That is, when asked to estimate the length of, say, an hour, minute or second, we tend to be accurate, although scientists have yet to find a neuronal clock helping us with these measurements, Hammond said.
But our estimates can be greatly affected by psychological factors, including emotion.
In one experiment noted by Hammond, researchers asked people to mill about a room and socialize before telling the researchers, in confidence, which person they'd like as a partner in a subsequent task. Each participant was then individually taken behind closed doors and told one of two things: "We are sorry, but no one wants to be your partner; can you please work on your own?" or "Everyone chose you and now the only way to be fair is to have you work solo." The participants were then asked to estimate how much time they spent on the given task.
If the subjects thought popularity caused their seclusion, time seemed to pass very quickly. But for those who felt rejected, time stretched on and on.
Attention and memory also have powerful effects on time perception, Hammond said. For instance, novel experiences, because they require more mental processing, seem to last longer than familiar situations.
"This is why walking somewhere new seems to take longer than the walk back," she said
Why should something as reliable as a ticking clock be perceived with such inconsistency? Claudia Hammond, science author and broadcaster, explores this question in her new book, Time Warped (Canongate Books Ltd, 2012), out today (May 3).
She presented some of her findings at the British Psychology Society Annual Conference here in April, where she won the Society's Public Engagement and Media Award.
The present
Humans are remarkably good at measuring time in general. That is, when asked to estimate the length of, say, an hour, minute or second, we tend to be accurate, although scientists have yet to find a neuronal clock helping us with these measurements, Hammond said.
But our estimates can be greatly affected by psychological factors, including emotion.
In one experiment noted by Hammond, researchers asked people to mill about a room and socialize before telling the researchers, in confidence, which person they'd like as a partner in a subsequent task. Each participant was then individually taken behind closed doors and told one of two things: "We are sorry, but no one wants to be your partner; can you please work on your own?" or "Everyone chose you and now the only way to be fair is to have you work solo." The participants were then asked to estimate how much time they spent on the given task.
If the subjects thought popularity caused their seclusion, time seemed to pass very quickly. But for those who felt rejected, time stretched on and on.
Attention and memory also have powerful effects on time perception, Hammond said. For instance, novel experiences, because they require more mental processing, seem to last longer than familiar situations.
"This is why walking somewhere new seems to take longer than the walk back," she said
