Action-outcome delays modulate the temporal expansion of intended outcomes

Abstract

The phenomenon of intentional binding pertains to the perceived connection between a voluntary action and its anticipated result. When an individual intends an outcome, it appears to subjectively extend in time due to a pre-activation of the intended result, particularly evident at shorter action-outcome delays. However, there is a concern that the operationalisation of intention might have led to a mixed interpretation of the outcome expansion attributed to the pre-activation of intention, given the sensitivity of time perception and intentional binding to external cues that could accelerate the realisation of expectations. To investigate the expansion dynamics of an intended outcome, we employed a modified version of the temporal bisection task in two experiments. Experiment 1 considered the action-outcome delay as a within-subject factor, while experiment 2 treated it as a between-subject factor. The results revealed that the temporal expansion of an intended outcome was only evident under the longer action-outcome delay condition. We attribute this observation to working memory demands and attentional allocation due to temporal relevancy and not due to pre-activation. The discrepancy in effects across studies is explained by operationalising different components of the intentional binding effect, guided by the cue integration theory. Moreover, we discussed speculative ideas regarding the involvement of specific intentions based on the proximal intent distal intent (PIDI) theory and whether causality plays a role in temporal binding. Our study contributes to the understanding of how intention influences time perception and sheds light on how various methodological factors, cues, and delays can impact the dynamics of temporal expansion associated with an intended outcome.

A matter of time: how musical training affects time perception

“…Time perception has been the subject of investigation for many years. Previous studies have reported that temporal perception can be influenced by various factors, including emotion ( Droit-Volet et al, 2011 , 2020 ), color ( Thönes et al, 2018 ), magnitudes ( Chang et al, 2011 ; Shukla and Bapi, 2021 , 2022 ) intention ( Wenke and Haggard, 2009 ; Makwana and Srinivasan, 2017 ; Donapati et al, 2024 ), and meditation ( Singh and Srinivasan, 2019 ). In addition to these factors, several studies have suggested associations between certain abilities and the processing of temporal information ( Perrone et al, 2023 ).…”