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Processing of Temporal Information and the Cognitive Theory of Time Experience

  • Chapter
The Study of Time

Summary

For man as an information processing system, time is one of the experiential dimensions of information, and it should be considered equivalent to other, non-temporal, aspects of this information, such as intensity, size, etc. Since as a processor man has a limited capacity there will be necessarily a trade-off between temporal and non-temporal information, which is open to quantification. Research in this area is reviewed. Most contemporary models of time evaluation incorporate a-specific “pulse counter” mechanisms to account for the internal clock by which time is measured subjectively. The rate of this internal clock is thought to be influenced by the information processed by the subject. In this paper an alternative formulation is defended: time evaluation is a cognitive reconstruction of contents of the interval. The latter formulation avoids the unnecessary assumption of the former. It explains the same phenomena equally well, while moreover it can handle various matters that offer difficulties to models stated in terms of clock mechanisms.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Perception RVO-TNO, Kampweg 5, Soesterberg, Netherlands

    Prof. Dr. John A. Michon

  2. State University Groningen, Netherlands

    Prof. Dr. John A. Michon

Authors
  1. Prof. Dr. John A. Michon
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. P. O. Box 164, Pleasantville, NY, 10570, USA

    J. T. Fraser

  2. Department of History, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742, USA

    F. C. Haber (Professor) (Professor)

  3. Mathematisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg, D-6900, Heidelberg, West Germany

    G. H. Müller (Professor) (Professor)

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© 1972 Springer-Verlag, Berlin · Heidelberg

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Michon, J.A. (1972). Processing of Temporal Information and the Cognitive Theory of Time Experience. In: Fraser, J.T., Haber, F.C., Müller, G.H. (eds) The Study of Time. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-65387-2_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-65387-2_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-65389-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-65387-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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