All Our Yesterdays: The Perception of Time

The experience of time appears relative — from the standpoint of human perception. The experience of time can be defined as a mental sequence of moment-to-moment reflections; the recollection of time can be defined as a remembrance of that sequence. These measurements of time (prospective and retrospective) are not identical.  The speed of time, as measured in the flow of events, can be experienced as being either whirlwind or languid, depending on one’s psychological interpretation. Similarly, the estimation of time elapsed, after a sequence of events has occurred, can be experienced as either recent or long ago, according to human perception. Various studies have claimed that children experience time’s passage more slowly than adults. The research suggests that much greater mental stimulation occurs in children’s brains, as compared to their older counterparts. The intense assimilation and learning of new data in childhood incorporates a denser palette of experience, and makes time seem longer in duration.   Another possible reason for the difference in time perception between adults and children may be found in the “proportionality” argument, which states that a particular chunk of time in a child’s life occupies a greater percentage of the whole, when compared to the same chunk of time in an adult’s life. This argument appears to be a version of the Delboeuf Illusion, except that it pertains to time, not to optical effects.   Regardless of age, th...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Memory and Perception Boredom Perception Of Time Source Type: blogs