Simultaneity and temporal order perception: different sides of the same coin? Evidence from a visual prior entry study

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

Attended stimuli are perceived as occurring earlier than unattended stimuli. This phenomenon of prior entry is usually identified by a shift in the point of subjective simultaneity (PSS) in temporal order judgements (TOJs). According to its traditional psychophysical interpretation, the PSS coincides with the perception of simultaneity. This assumption is, however, questionable. Technically, the PSS represents the temporal interval between two stimuli at which the two alternative TOJs are equally likely. Thus it also seems possible that observers perceive not simultaneity, but uncertainty of temporal order. This possibility is supported by prior-entry studies, which find that perception of simultaneity is not very likely at the PSS. The present study tested the percept at the PSS in prior entry, using peripheral cues to orient attention. We found that manipulating attention caused varying temporal perceptions around the PSS. On some occasions observers perceived the two stimuli as simultaneous, but on others they were simply uncertain about the order in which they had been presented. This finding contradicts the implicit assumption of most models of temporal order perception, that perception of simultaneity inevitably results if temporal order cannot be discriminated.
Original languageEnglish
JournalQuarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
Volume64
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)394-416
Number of pages23
ISSN1747-0218
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 02.2011
Externally publishedYes

    Research areas

  • Psychology
  • Attention, Prior entry, Simultaneity, Temporal order judgement

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Intra-specific leaf trait responses to species richness at two different local scales
  2. „Ist das dein Handy oder vibrierst du?“
  3. Relationship between pH-values and nutrient availability in forest soils - the consequences for the use of ecograms in forest ecology
  4. Abnormal extrusion texture and reversed yield asymmetry in a Mg–Y-Sm-Zn-Zr alloy
  5. Learning spaces in multi-stakeholder initiatives
  6. How Founders Harness Tensions in Hybrid Venture Development
  7. Placing Brazil's grasslands and savannas on the map of science and conservation
  8. On the Hausdorff dimension of fractals given by certain expansions of real numbers
  9. The State of Multimedia Mass-Balance Modeling in Environmental science and decision-making
  10. The utility of macroecological rules for microbial biogeography
  11. Microstructure and hardness evolution of laser metal deposited AA5087 wall-structures
  12. THEORY OF PEDAGOGICAL BEHAVIOR - GERMAN - KORING,B
  13. Multimodal analysis of spatially heterogeneous microstructural refinement and softening mechanisms in three-pass friction stir processed Al-4Si alloy
  14. Living Labs for Product Circularity: Learnings from the ‘Innovation Network aiming at Sustainable Smartphones’
  15. Public Value
  16. Bryophytes and organic layers control uptake of airborne nitrogen in low-N environments
  17. Similarity of molecular descriptors: The equivalence of Zagreb indices and walk counts
  18. What workers want: job satisfaction in the U.S.
  19. Repatriation, Public Programming, and the DEAI Toolkit
  20. Soziale Netzwerkanalyse
  21. Communicating CCS
  22. The Multiple Self Objection to the Prudential Lifespan Account
  23. Does Job Satisfaction Adapt to Working Conditions?