Mental time travel in animals?

Are humans alone in their ability to reminisce about the past and imagine the future? Recent evidence suggests that food-storing birds (scrub jays) have access to information about what they have stored where and when. This has raised the possibility of mental time travel (MTT) in animals and sparked similar research with other species. Here we caution that such data do not provide convincing evidence for MTT. Examination of characteristics of human MTT (e.g. non-verbal declaration, generativity, developmental prerequisites) points to other avenues as to how a case for animal MTT could be made. In light of the current lack of evidence, however, we maintain that MTT is a uniquely human characteristic.     

Are animals stuck in time?

People can time travel cognitively because they can remember events having occurred at particular times in the past (episodic memory) and because they can anticipate new events occurring at particular times in the future. The ability to assign points in time to events arises from human development of a sense of time and its accompanying time-keeping technology. The hypothesis is advanced that animals are cognitively stuck in time: that is, they have no sense of time and thus have no episodic memory or ability to anticipate long-range future events. Research on animals' abilities to detect time of day, track short time intervals, remember the order of a sequence of events, and anticipate future events are considered, and it is concluded that the stuck-in-time hypothesis is largely supported by the current evidence.     

Does time fly when you're counting down? The effect of counting direction on subjective time judgment

We show that counting downward while performing a task shortens the perceived duration of the task compared to counting upward. People perceive that less time has elapsed when they were counting downward versus upward while using a product (Studies 1 and 3) or watching geometrical shapes (Study 2). The counting direction effect is obtained using both prospective and retrospective time judgments (Study 3), but only when the count range begins with the number “1” (Study 2). Furthermore, the counting direction affects peoples' attitude toward the product, their likelihood of using it again, and their purchase intentions. We test several plausible accounts for the counting direction effect, including task difficulty, numerical anchoring, and arousal. We find preliminary evidence that downward counting feels shorter because it is more arousing than upward counting.     

Evolutionary economics of mental time travel?

What is the function of our capacity for 'mental time travel'? Evolutionary considerations suggest that vivid memory and imaginative foresight may be crucial cognitive devices for human decision making. Our emotional engagement with past or future events gives them great motivational force, which may counter a natural tendency towards time discounting and impulsive, opportunistic behavior. In this view, whereas simple episodic memory provides us with a store of relevant, case-based information to guide decisions, mental time travel nudges us towards more restrained choices, which in the long term are advantageous, especially so given human dependence on cooperation and coordination.     

Is the growth of subjective time in humans a linear or nonlinear function of real time?

The difficulties of deciding whether subjective time grows as a linear or nonlinear function of real time are discussed, and two experiments are presented to address this question. In Experiment 1, people received a 10-s standard duration and then had to judge what proportion other durations (ranging from 1 to 10 s) were of the standard. Counting was prevented by a concurrent task. The relation between judged and actual proportions was linear. In Experiment 2, people were required to average together three tone durations (mean duration 600 ms) and to judge whether subsequently presented comparisons were or were not the average. The spacing of the tone durations had no effect on judgements, suggesting a linear underlying time scale.     

History and time in Nichiren's Senji-shō

This present study is a reflection upon a case study of an Independent Charismatic Church in the light of Harvey Cox's book, Fire From Heaven. In particular, it seeks to re-examine the theory of Cox that within the emergence of postmodernity religious expression is becoming polarized into the forms of ‘fundamentalism’ and ‘experientialism’. Cox applies this analysis to Pentecostalism and suggests that even now the battle lines are drawn between these polarities. He speculates that glossolalia could be the focus of such a debate between belief and experience within postmodernity and may provide a resource which meets the current ‘ecstasy deficit’ in human spirituality. Evidence from this case study suggests that there are some indications of a cultural shift to postmodernity and that the tensions which Cox highlights are present within the case study. However, it is unclear whether the role of glossolalia in postmodernity will be as important as Cox anticipates. Rather, this study suggests that glossolalia will become merely one symbol among many which form the ‘spiritual bricolage’.     

Is the growth of subjective time in humans a linear or nonlinear function of real time?

The difficulties of deciding whether subjective time grows as a linear or nonlinear function of real time are discussed, and two experiments are presented to address this question. In Experiment 1, people received a 10-s standard duration and then had to judge what proportion other durations (ranging from 1 to 10 s) were of the standard. Counting was prevented by a concurrent task. The relation between judged and actual proportions was linear. In Experiment 2, people were required to average together three tone durations (mean duration 600 ms) and to judge whether subsequently presented comparisons were or were not the average. The spacing of the tone durations had no effect on judgements, suggesting a linear underlying time scale.     

Noogenesis—the fundamental problem of our time

The possibility of long wave economic cycles are considered under both market capitalism and command socialism. Capitalist long waves can be generated by a two‐stage multiplier‐accelerator model and socialist long waves can be generated by an equivalent model strictly for investment cycles. Under certain conditions chaotic dynamics can occur at turning points in both cases. It is argued that a systemic crisis leading to a systemic transformation is most likely to occur at such a point.     

At the same time or apart in time? The role of presentation timing and retrieval dynamics in generalization

Several bodies of research have found different results with regard to presentation timing, categorization, and generalization. Both presenting instances at the same time (simultaneous) and presenting instances apart in time (spacing) have been shown to facilitate generalization. In this study, we resolved these results by examining simultaneous, massed, and spaced presentations in 2-year-old children's (N = 144) immediate and long-term performance on a novel noun generalization task. Results revealed that, when tested immediately, children in the simultaneous condition outperformed children in all other conditions. However, when tested after 15 min, children in the spaced condition outperformed children in all other conditions. Results are discussed in terms of how retrieval dynamics during learning affect abstraction, retention, and generalization across time.     

Cultural modulations of space–time compatibility effects

The representation of elapsing time may require spatial attention. In certain circumstances, this spatial representation develops from left to right. This is suggested by a performance advantage in responding short with the left hand and long with the right hand (spatial–temporal association between response codes [STEARC]). The present study tests whether one possible determinant of the directionality of the STEARC effect is cultural. In particular, we investigated whether reading/writing habits can affect STEARC direction by administering a visual time judgment task to Italian participants, who were exposed to a left-to-right reading/writing system, and Israeli participants, who mainly used a right-to-left system. The Italian participants showed a left-to-right STEARC effect, while this effect was not present in the Israeli group. The study demonstrates that cultural habits can influence the way in which spatial attention supports the representation of time, similar to the pattern found in other nonspatial domains such as numbers.     

Bayesian hierarchical response time modelling—A tutorial

Response time modelling is developing rapidly in the field of psychometrics, and its use is growing in psychology. In most applications, component models for response times are modelled jointly with component models for responses, thereby stabilizing estimation of item response theory model parameters and enabling research on a variety of novel substantive research questions. Bayesian estimation techniques facilitate estimation of response time models. Implementations of these models in standard statistical software, however, are still sparse. In this accessible tutorial, we discuss one of the most common response time models—the lognormal response time model—embedded in the hierarchical framework by van der Linden (2007). We provide detailed guidance on how to specify and estimate this model in a Bayesian hierarchical context. One of the strengths of the presented model is its flexibility, which makes it possible to adapt and extend the model according to researchers' needs and hypotheses on response behaviour. We illustrate this based on three recent model extensions: (a) application to non-cognitive data incorporating the distance-difficulty hypothesis, (b) modelling conditional dependencies between response times and responses, and (c) identifying differences in response behaviour via mixture modelling. This tutorial aims to provide a better understanding of the use and utility of response time models, showcases how these models can easily be adapted and extended, and contributes to a growing need for these models to answer novel substantive research questions in both non-cognitive and cognitive contexts.     

Immediate and remote time estimation — A comparison

The influence of the length of time elapsing between the termination of an interval on its estimated duration was tested in three experiments. In the first experiment, 89 subjects performed the W, C, and CW tasks of the Stroop color-word test. The duration of each of these three tasks, which was 10 second in reality, was estimated twice by every subject. Once, immediately upon completion of the task (IE), and a second time 90 seconds later (RE), both under prospective paradigm. The nature of the relationship between task difficulty and its estimated duration was found to be different in IE and RE. A negative relationship was found in IE while in RE no significant difference was found between difficulty levels. In the second experiment it was found that RE's trend was not caused by estimation order. In the third experiment IE and RE were tested under prospective and retrospective paradigms. In the perspective paradigm the results obtained in experiment 2 were replicated. In the retrospective paradigm the relationship between task difficulty and time estimation was, unlike the prospective paradigm, negative in both IE and RE. The significance of the results to time estimation theory was discussed.     

Stop—reaction time and the internal clock

In astop-reaction-time (stop-RT) task, a subject is presented with a regular, isochronous sequence of brief signals separated by a constant time interval, orstimulus onset asynchrony (SOA). His/her task is to press a response key as fast as possible when the sequence stops. As the sequence unfolds, an internal representation of the SOA duration builds up. Stop-RT is assumed to be triggered when aninternal clock, operating as an “alarm clock,” reaches a time criterion. Criterion setting is contingent upon variability in the SOA’s internal representation. In Experiment 1A, stop-RT was measured for isochronous sequences of brief tones, light flashes, and also sequences of tones and flashes presented in regular alternation (tone-light-tone…). Stop-RT was a linear function of SOA duration (ranging from 250 to 1,000 msec), regardless of modality, supporting a “central-clock” hypothesis. On the other hand, taken together, the results of Experiments 1A, 1B, 2, and 3 suggest that no internal representation of thebimodal (tone-light) SOA of alternating sequences builds up. Indeed, an alternating sequence is physically equivalent to two interlaced isochronous subsequences, one auditory and one visual. So,two internal representations, one for the auditory (tone-tone) and one for the visual (light-light) SOA, could build up, andtwo time criteria running “in parallel” could thus support stop-RT. To provide a critical test of parallel timing, stop-RT was measured for bimodal 5∶3 polyrhythms formed by the superposition of auditory and visual isochronous sequences that haddifferent SOA durations (Experiment 4). Parallel timing accounted for a large proportion of variance in polyrhythmic stop-RT data. Overall findings can be accounted for by assuming a functional architecture of an internal clock in which pulses emitted by acentral pacemaker are available in parallel with twomodality-specific switch-accumulator “timing modules.”     

Direct social perception of others’ subjective time

In this paper, I deploy Gallagher et al.’s theory of Direct Social Perception (DSP) to help explain how we perceive others’ subjective time. This process of second-person temporal perception plays an important role in interpersonal interaction, yet is often glossed over in discussions of intersubjectivity. Using A.D. Craig (2009) ‘awareness’ model of subjective time to unify converging evidence that subjective time is embodied, affective, and situated, I argue that subjective time cannot be considered as a hidden or invisible aspect of a private mind, but is partially externally visible through our gestures, expressions, and other behaviours as they unfold within a particular context. My central thesis is that, in face to face interactions, we are able to directly perceive these visible components of other people’s subjective time. This is made possible by our “enculturated” (Menary, 2015) and enactive perceptual faculties. The process of social perception is not a passive, unidirectional affair where static information about one person’s subjective time is transmitted to the other, but rather inextricably linked with action (both at the personal and subpersonal level) and interaction effects produced by a dynamic coupling between participants. Such an enactive perspective reveals how others’ subjective time can be perceived in everyday interactions.