Estimated duration for rotating-spot-pattern

Abstract

Two experiments were carried out to investigate duration estimation of rotating-spot-patterns under a situation with the minimum cue to frequency. Twenty-four undergraduates were used as subjects in each experiment. The magnitude estimation method was used in Experiment I, where for a constant duration, the estimate of the duration increased with the velocity of the rotation of the pattern except for that of stationary pattern, where the duration was estimated longer than that for the slowest of the moving patterns. The same tendencies were observed in Experiment II, where the magnitude production method was used. The multiple regression analysis suggested that the best model which explains the velocity effects upon time estimation was a multiplicative one and contained a quadratic function of logarithmically transformed velocity in both experiments. The explanatory principles of the velocity effects and the validity of the model were discussed in the light of past studies.). Two main effects have been uncovered in these studies, both related to the spatial and temporal attributes of the stimulus. One of them is the effect of velocity (or of distance) upon duration estimation. The other is the difference between estimated durations for a moving stimulus and for a stationary stimulus. Fraisse (1962) found that the reproduced durations for higher velocity movement judged against standard durations of a lower velocity movement are longer than the reverse. Rachlin (1966) also showed that with real durations held constant, the estimated durations for a fast moving spot appeared longer than that for a slower one. On the other hand, Matsuda (1974) found that even though the physical durations of a standard stimulus were constant, reproduced durations for a higher velocity standard (or for a standard of longer distance) were found to be shorter than that of lower velocity (or of shorter distance). Since in these experiments, a single moving stimulus was used and the velocity of the stimulus was always interrelated with the length of its moving path, it was not possible to decide which of them, velocity or distance, caused the difference in duration estimation. In the classical studies, Abbe (1935) and Cohen, Hunsel, and Sylvester (1955) found that the apparent duration was longer when the distance between stimuli was larger. On the other hand, Tayama and Aiba (1982), using random-spot-patterns as stimuli, found the effect of velocity where effects of distance were eliminated; the estimated duration increased with the increase of velocity. From what we have seen, the estimated duration seems to be affected by both velocity and distance. With respect to the comparison of duration estimations for moving vs. stationary stimuli, Lhamon and Goldstone