Carola Häring, Andrea
Kiesel, Joachim Hoffmann
If an action reliably produces an effect after a short time interval,
the action is perceived later and the effect is perceived earlier than
identical key presses that do not produce effects or identical stimuli
without preceding action (e.g. Haggard, Aschersleben, Gehrke, &
Prinz, 2002). These biases in time perception are attributed to
intentional binding, that is, in the context of action the action and
the effect get bound leading to closer temporal perception of both
events.
Using a psychophysical method, we have gained first evidence that in
the context of action the time interval between action and effect is
estimated shorter than it actually is. This shortened perception occurs
however not exclusively after freely chosen actions but also after
reactions to imperative stimuli. We now explore if our results can be
explained by intentional binding or if other possible explanations
apply. In a next step we will elaborate several alternative
explanations to intention as the crucial factor for this shortened
perception, like the perceived causality between two events.
Furthermore we want to examine if the specificity of an effect is
decisive for the shortened perception of the interval between action
and effect.
Updated: 10.07.2009