Second Hand Effects: Exploring Spatial Influences on Temporal Judgments in Clocks

Humans use clocks to objectively measure their subjective temporal experiences. But can the spatial properties in a clock distort our experience of time ? This study examines how spatial boundaries in an analog clock influence prospective temporal judgements. We found that when the second hand crossed more boundaries, it distorted participants' spatial memories, causing them to overestimate the arc traced by the second hand. However, this distortion in spatial memory did not significantly influence participants' temporal judgments. Besides boundary crossing, our study examined and replicated the influence of speed on temporal judgment, with faster speeds of the second hand being associated with a dilated temporal experience.