Processing time between visual events

• Main Author: Simon Grondin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Conselho Brasileiro de Oftalmologia
• Series: Arquivos Brasileiros de Oftalmologia
• Subjects: Time perception; Perceived duration; Time markers; Kappa effect
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-27492003000600012&lng=en&tlng=en

Visual perception is closely related to and associated with the processing of space. Nevertheless, all events occur at some moment in time, and time needs to be processed in the visual mode. After briefly reviewing the many research avenues in which time and vision are linked, this article focuses on the discrimination of visually marked time intervals, emphasizing work from my own laboratory. It presents a theoretical position, that of a single-clock hypothesis, as well as issues and data that show how visual temporal processing can be approached. These issues are partly related to the fact that time is marked by signals from a single source or by signals provided by distanced sources. In the latter case, different questions arise depending on the signals' exact location. It is known that more distance between flashes can result in longer perceived duration (kappa effect). However, the data reported here, involving signals placed on the same vertical plane, show the opposite effect: briefer perceived duration with more distance between flashes. When flashes are located on the same horizontal plane in different hemi-fields, there is also a lateral effect that may influence time judgments.