About the (Non)scalar Property for Time Perception

Abstract

Approaching sensation scientifically is relatively straightforward. There are physical attributes for stimulating the central nervous system, and there are specific receptors for each sense for translating the physical signals into codes that brain will recognize. When studying time though, it is far from obvious that there are any specific receptors or specific stimuli. Consequently, it becomes important to determine whether internal time obeys some laws or principles usually reported when other senses are studied. In addition to reviewing some classical methods for studying time perception, the present chapter focusses on one of these laws, Weber law, also referred to as the scalar property in the field of time perception. Therefore, the question addressed here is the following: does variability increase linearly as a function of the magnitude of the duration under investigation? The main empirical facts relative to this question are reviewed, along with a report of the theoretical impact of these facts on the hypotheses about the nature of the internal mechanisms responsible for estimating time.

Asymmetrical modulation of time perception by increase versus decrease in coherence of motion

“…Interestingly, research contesting the constancy of CVs traditionally shows an increase in CV with longer/supra-second timed durations (also see Grondin, 2014, for a review); although higher CVs have been found for sub-second intervals as well (see Lewis & Miall, 2009). Our results in all three experiments contradict these findings, showing that CVs decrease with target durations (see above).…”

Do not count too slowly: evidence for a temporal limitation in short-term memory

“…Although the idea of a dual-process approach is compatible with the interpretation of unequal Weber fractions in some timing tasks (Grondin, 2012; for reviews, see Gibbon et al, 1997, or Grondin, 2014, what we suggest here is to interpret the results obtained in the present study from a very different perspective-that is, that of a limitation in short-term memory. What is sometimes simply attributed to inattention may rather be due to an inherent temporal capacity.…”

The effect of reinforcement probability on time discrimination in the midsession reversal task

“…Either we assume that in condition High‐Low the pigeons continued to time the moment of reversal, and then conclude, from the extremely low coefficients of variation, that they violated the scalar property of timing (Gibbon, ), or we assume that local cues, rather than time, controlled switching. Given the generality of the scalar property, the latter hypothesis seems more plausible and parsimonious (but for violations of the scalar property see Bizo, Chu, Sanabria, & Killeen, ; Grondin, ; and Zeiler & Powell, ). For some reason, then, in condition High‐Low, switching came under the control of local cues, namely the food/no food outcomes of S1 choices.…”