A model of waiting's duration judgment

Abstract

A model describing the process of waiting's duration judgment is described and tested. The suggested model is based on attentional models of prospective duration judgment. It is assumed that in a waiting situation, an automatic process of prospective waiting judgment is activated, because while waiting both temporal relevance and temporal uncertainty are high. The degree to which attentional resources are allocated for prospective timing is determined by several factors like waiting expectations, social justice and the waiter's degree of impatience. 491 participants judged waiting's duration and degree of a waiter's impatience after reading a scenario in which a waiting situation was described. Sixteen scenarios in which waiting situational parameters were manipulated according to the suggested model, were presented. The results supported the hypothesized model of waiting's duration judgment.