scholarly journals The influence of everyday events on prospective timing “in the moment”

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley S. Bangert ◽  
Christopher A. Kurby ◽  
Jeffrey M. Zacks
Keyword(s):  
Target Duration ◽  
Event Segmentation ◽  
Temporal Duration ◽  
Everyday Activities ◽  
Timing Task ◽  
Temporal Reproduction ◽  
Event Segmentation Theory ◽  
Timing Ability ◽  
Everyday Experiences ◽  
The Moment

AbstractWe conducted two experiments to investigate how the eventfulness of everyday experiences influences people’s prospective timing ability. Specifically, we investigated whether events contained within movies of everyday activities serve as markers of time, as predicted by Event Segmentation Theory, or whether events pull attention away from the primary timing task, as predicted by the Attentional Gate theory. In the two experiments reported here, we asked participants to reproduce a previously learned 30 second target duration while watching a movie that contained eventful and uneventful intervals. In Experiment 2, reproduction also occurred during “blank movies” while watching a fixation. In both experiments, participants made shorter and more variable reproductions while simultaneously watching eventful as compared to uneventful movie intervals. Moreover, in Experiment 2, the longest reproductions were produced when participants had to watch the blank movies, which contained no events. These results support Event Segmentation Theory and demonstrate that the elapsing events during prospective temporal reproduction appear to serve as markers of temporal duration rather than distracting from the timing task.

Temporal-Signal Detection and Individual Differences in Timing

Perception ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 525-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott W Brown ◽  
Damon C Newcomb ◽  
Kathleen G Kahrl
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Signal Detection ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Target Duration ◽  
Detection Task ◽  
Reproduction Task ◽  
Temporal Reproduction ◽  
Low Sensitivity ◽  
Improved Accuracy ◽  
Judgment Data

Signal-detection procedures were used in three experiments to examine sensitivity and bias in time judgments and to evaluate individual differences in timing. The task required subjects to judge whether visual stimuli were presented for a certain target duration (the ‘signal’) or for a slightly longer duration. In experiment 1, subjects performed versions of the task involving both short (2 s) and long (12 s) target stimuli. Analyses of sensitivity and bias measures ( d' and β) provided evidence for consistency in timing performance within individuals. In experiment 2, subjects were tested on a detection task with 5, 10, or 15 s targets, followed by a temporal-reproduction task involving stimulus durations ranging from 3 to 17 s. Subjects with high temporal sensitivity showed less error in their reproductions than subjects with low temporal sensitivity. In experiment 3, subjects were pretested on a detection task with a 12 s target and then performed a temporal-production task where they attempted to generate a series of 12 s intervals under either control or informational feedback conditions. Feedback improved accuracy and reduced variability in temporal productions. However, the low-temporal-sensitivity subjects were more variable in their responses under both conditions than were the high-sensitivity subjects. The results point to the utility of a temporal-signal-detection task both as a means for studying individual differences in timing and as a pretesting technique for assigning subjects to high-sensitivity and low-sensitivity groups to reduce error in time-judgment data.

scholarly journals Dynamic Prediction During Perception of Everyday Events

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle L. Eisenberg ◽  
Jeffrey M. Zacks ◽  
Shaney Flores
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Prediction Error ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Adaptive Functioning ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Predictive Processing ◽  
Dynamic Prediction ◽  
Event Segmentation ◽  
Event Segmentation Theory ◽  
Near Future

AbstractThe ability to predict what is going to happen in the near future is integral for daily functioning. Previous research suggests that predictability varies over time, with increases in prediction error at those moments that people perceive as boundaries between meaningful events. These moments also tend to be points of rapid change in the environment. Eye tracking provides a method for continuous measurement of prediction as participants watch a movie of an actor performing a series of actions. In two studies, we used eye tracking to study the time course of prediction around event boundaries. In both studies, viewers looked at objects that were about to be touched by the actor shortly before the objects were contacted, demonstrating predictive looking. However, this behavior was modulated by event boundaries: looks to to-be-contacted objects near event boundaries were less likely to be early and more likely to be late, compared to looks to objects contacted within events. This result is consistent with theories proposing that event segmentation results from transient increases in prediction error.Significance StatementThe ability to predict what will happen in the near future is integral for adaptive functioning, and although there has been extensive research on predictive processing, the dynamics of prediction at the second by second level during the perception of naturalistic activity has never been explored. The current studies therefore describe results from a novel task, the Predictive Looking at Action Task (PLAT) that can be used to investigate the dynamics of predictive processing. Demonstrating the utility of this task to investigate predictive processing, this task was applied to study the predictions made by Event Segmentation Theory, which suggests that people experience event boundaries at times of change and unpredictability in the environment. The results of these studies are of interest to communities investigating the dynamic comprehension and segmentation of naturalistic events and to communities studying visual perception of naturalistic activity.

scholarly journals Structuring memory through inference-based event segmentation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeon Soon Shin ◽  
Sarah DuBrow
Keyword(s):  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Inference Process ◽  
Event Cognition ◽  
Event Segmentation ◽  
Online Processing ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Event Segmentation Theory ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Event Boundary

Although the stream of information we encounter is continuous, our experiences tend to be discretized into meaningful clusters, altering how we represent our past. Event segmentation theory proposes that clustering ongoing experience in this way is adaptive in that it promotes efficient online processing as well as later reconstruction of relevant information. A growing literature supports this theory by demonstrating its important behavioral consequences. Yet the exact mechanisms of segmentation remain elusive. Here, we provide a brief overview of how event segmentation influences ongoing processing, subsequent memory retrieval, and decision making as well as some proposed underlying mechanisms. We then explore how beliefs, or inferences, about what generates our experience may be the foundation of event cognition. In this inference‐based framework, experiences are grouped together according to what is inferred to have generated them. Segmentation then occurs when the inference changes, creating an event boundary. This offers an alternative to dominant theories of event segmentation, allowing boundaries to occur independent of perceptual change and even when transitions are predictable. We describe how this framework can reconcile seemingly contradictory empirical findings (e.g., memory can be biased toward both extreme episodes and the average of episodes). Finally, we discuss open questions regarding how time is incorporated into the inference process.

Changes in the experience of time: The impact of spatial information on the perception and memory of duration

2020 ◽  
pp. 174702182096849
Author(s):  
Can Fenerci ◽  
Kevin da Silva Castanheira ◽  
Myles LoParco ◽  
Signy Sheldon
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Information ◽  
Spatial Context ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Time Duration ◽  
Event Segmentation ◽  
Event Segmentation Theory ◽  
Experience Of Time ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Encoding And Retrieval

Although it is understood that our experience of time is fluid and subjective, the cognitive mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are not well described. Based on event segmentation theory, we tested the hypothesis that changes in the context, particularly the spatial context, of an experience impact how an individual perceives (encodes) and remembers the length of that event. A group of participants viewed short videos of scenes from movies that either contained shifts in spatial context (e.g., characters moving through doorways) or did not contain any shifts in spatial context. In one task, participants estimated a randomly selected time duration (between 10 and 23 s) when encoding these videos. In a second task, the same participants estimated the duration of the videos after viewing them. We found that even though the presence of spatial shifts impacted how time was perceived, the nature of this effect differed as a function of task. Specifically, when time was estimated at encoding, these estimates were longer for videos that did not contain spatial shifts compared with those with spatial shifts. However, when these estimates were made at retrieval, durations were reported as longer for videos with spatial context shifts than those without. A second experiment replicated these main findings in a new sample. We interpret these results as providing new evidence for theories on how context changes, particularly those in spatial information, distort the experience of time differently during the encoding and retrieval phases of memory.

Action regulation in old age: Time samples from everyday contexts

2001 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 392-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra L. Klumb
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Efficacy Beliefs ◽  
Everyday Activities ◽  
Productive Activities ◽  
Perceived Difficulty ◽  
The Moment

The operation of self-efficacy beliefs was investigated in a group of 81 participants between 73 and 97 years of age with intensive time samples including activities carried out at the moment a signal was received, their subjective difficulty, and concurrent mood in everyday life. In a two-level approach, occasion-level and person-level effects could be modelled simultaneously. Within individuals, productive activities were perceived more difficult, on average, than nonproductive ones. Furthermore, perceived difficulty was lower the more positive concurrent mood was rated. Variance in these intra-individual slopes was partially explained by inter-individual differences in self-belief of efficacy regarding everyday activities.

scholarly journals Jakość życia chorych na chorobę Alzheimera / The life quality of the people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 50-53
Author(s):  
Dorota Kozak-Putowska ◽  
Joanna Iłżecka
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
Progressive Dementia ◽  
Everyday Activities ◽  
Self Reliance ◽  
The People ◽  
The Moment

Abstract Introduction. Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by progressive dementia process. There’s no medicine available to hinder that process. In case, the ill individual is unable to diagnose early symptoms of the disease, they call a doctor in the moment when a neurotic atrophy is irreversible. The patient is gradually losing self-reliance in everyday activities, the ability to take care of themselves, loses touch with the reality and surrounding world, begins to experience distressing symptoms and becomes isolated from the society. All these factors affect the life quality of an individual suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.Aim. The present article provides an analysis of literature on the quality of life in people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

scholarly journals Culture influences how people divide continuous sensory experience into events.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khena M. Swallow ◽  
Qi Wang
Keyword(s):  
Human Perception ◽  
Cultural Background ◽  
Event Perception ◽  
Impact Event ◽  
Event Segmentation ◽  
Everyday Activities ◽  
Cultural Preference ◽  
Analytical Processing ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
Visual Changes

Everyday experience is divided into meaningful events as a part of human perception. Current accounts of this process, known as event segmentation, focus on how characteristics of the experience (e.g., situation changes) influence segmentation. However, characteristics of the viewers themselves have been largely neglected. We test whether one such viewer characteristic, their cultural background, impacts online event segmentation. Culture could impact event segmentation (1) by emphasizing different aspects of experiences as being important for comprehension, memory, and communication, and (2) by providing different exemplars of how everyday activities are performed, which objects are likely to be used, and how scenes are laid out. Indian and US viewers (N=152) identified events in everyday activities (e.g., making coffee) recorded in Indian and US settings. Consistent with their cultural preference for analytical processing, US viewers segmented the activities into more events than did Indian viewers. Furthermore, event boundaries identified by US viewers were more strongly associated with visual changes, whereas boundaries identified by Indian viewers were more strongly associated with goal changes. There was no evidence that familiarity with an activity impacted segmentation. Thus, culture impacts event perception by altering the types of information people prioritize when dividing experience into meaningful events.

scholarly journals Melatonin Modulates Interval Timing in Rats: Effect of Pinealectomy

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivana L. Bussi ◽  
Gloria Levín ◽  
Diego A. Golombek ◽  
Patricia V. Agostino
Keyword(s):  
Interval Timing ◽  
Target Duration ◽  
Circadian System ◽  
Timing Task ◽  
Melatonin Administration ◽  
Timing Mechanisms ◽  
Transient Impairment ◽  
Dopamine Signaling ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Estimation Of Time

Interval timing is a complex cognitive process that involves the estimation of time within the seconds-to-minutes range. This temporal processing depends on cortico-striatal interactions, as well as an optimal dopaminergic function. On the other hand, the circadian system controls physiological and behavioral functions with periods close to 24 hr. We have previously reported that short-time perception in mice is influenced by the circadian pacemaker, with dopamine signaling as a link between both temporal systems. In this work we evaluated the involvement of melatonin in the circadian modulation of interval timing, as well as the interaction between this hormone and dopamine levels in the striatum. We report that melatonin-depleted rats, by pinealectomy, present an impairment in their ability to estimate a short (24 s) target duration in the peak-interval procedure. Moreover, melatonin administration in drinking water restores interval timing precision in pinealectomized rats. We also show that circadian desynchronization causes a transient impairment in the timing task. In addition, melatonin administration affects interval timing only when rats are trained and tested during the night. Furthermore, we report that melatonin depletion increases striatal dopamine availability, which is reverted by external melatonin administration. Taken together, our findings add further support to the notion that the circadian system modulates interval timing, probably by using melatonin as an output to regulate dopaminergic functions in brain areas that are important for interval timing mechanisms.

scholarly journals The Effect of Feedback and Reinforcement Learning on Time Perception

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farah N N Bader ◽  
Martin Wiener
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Time Perception ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Feedback Group ◽  
Directional Information ◽  
Temporal Reproduction ◽  
Timing Ability ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Metacognitive Ability

Behavioral and electrophysiology studies have shown that humans possess a certain self-awareness of their individual timing ability. However, conflicting reports raise concerns about whether humans can discern the direction of their timing error, calling into question the extent of this temporal metacognition. To understand the depth of this ability, the impact of non-directional feedback and reinforcement learning on time perception were examined in a unique temporal reproduction paradigm that involved a mixed set of interval durations the opportunity to repeat every trial immediately after receiving feedback, essentially allowing a “re-do.” Within this task, we tested two groups of participants on versions where non-directional feedback was provided after every response, or not provided at all. Participants in both groups demonstrated reduced central tendency and exhibited significantly greater accuracy in the re-do trial temporal estimates, showcasing metacognitive ability and an inherent capacity to adjust temporal responses despite the lack of directional information or any feedback at all. Additionally, the feedback group also exhibited an increase in the precision of responses on the re-do trials, an effect not observed in the no-feedback group, suggesting that feedback may specifically reduce noise when making a temporal estimate. These findings enhance our understanding of timing self-awareness, and can provide insight into what may transpire when temporal metacognition or error monitoring is disrupted.

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