The role of succession in temporal cognition: Is the time-order error a recency effect of memory?

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the presentation-order error that occurs in judgments of sequentially presented temporal intervals. The factors of interest were (1) the source of the errors, sensitivity versus bias, (2) the direction of the errors, and (3) the effect of varying the ISI separating the sequentially presented intervals. Subjects experienced two successively presented time intervals in the range of 1 to 4 sec or 10 to 13 sec on each trial, separated by ISIs of .5-6 sec, and were asked to reproduce either the first or the second interval. Results indicated a negative time-order error for all intervals, such that the intervals were consistently reproduced as longer when presented second rather than first. This time-order error was found to be due to the sensitivity of the processing system, and was interpreted in terms of the recency effect of memory. Presentation order was found to affect sensitivity, whereas ISI was shown to affect reliability of reproductions. ISI had no systematic effect on the size of the time-order error. Implications for time-order error theories and the general importance of the study of presentationorder effects are discussed. © 1988 Psychonomic Society, Inc.