Perceptual fluency and duration judgments : An experimental study regarding the effect of fluency on perception of time

Abstract: This study investigated whether perceptual fluency could affect duration judgments. Fluency refers to levels of subjective ease, in which stimuli can be processed (Lanska, Olds, & Westerman, 2014). The study was conducted with experimental within group factorial design. Visual stimuli were selected from Snodgrass and Vanderwarts (1980) standardized set of 260 pictures. Pairs were made with low and high levels of complexity. Duration was about 1000 milliseconds with .10 variations. 1/3 of pairs were without variation. Participants were asked to judge which image was presented for longest time. Total amount of participants was 37. Main hypothesis was that low levels of complexity would be judged, to a greater frequency, as having been presented for longer duration. Observed mean (M= 20.27, SD = 2.90) was slightly lower than level of chance (M = 21) and the difference was non significant, t(36) = -1.53, p > .13. The null hypothesis was not rejected.