title: Signal pulse-rate and judged duration.
abstract: Therories which construct perception of time from content of input predict monotonic functions of rate-judged duration of stimuli, and  do not account for intersensory differences. Two experiments required Ss to compare directly the durations of paird lights or sounds pulsed at various rates to produce discriminable beats and flickers (6.0, 10.0, 14.0 Hz), and steady signals. Pulsed lights, not sounds, were judged longer than steady, and this visual effect was identical for all flicker rates. Faster pulsled sounds and lights were judged longer than slower ones for all frequency combinations except for 10.0 to 14.0-Hz comparisons with vision. No monotonic function of ratejudged durations of pulses was obtained; the effect was all-or-none. Although pulse rate did affect judged duration, neither simple functions nor symmetry across senses was found.
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception; D001683:Biological Clocks; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D013998:Time Perception; D014796:Visual Perception