Exploring Passage of Time Judgment in a Social Waiting Context

Waiting has been associated with temporal distortions and affective experiences. However, one might think that there are as many different experiences of time as there are different waiting situations. This study investigated the determinants of the sense of time in different waiting situations, some with a social perspective (waiting for someone), and some without. 84 participants were placed in a waiting situation for a few minutes, according to three conditions: waiting i) for a familiar person, ii) for an unfamiliar person, and iii) for equipment to be ready. At the end of the waiting time, they reported on temporal experiences (i.e., passage of time judgments [POTj], attention to time, and duration estimation) and filled in various scales assessing their emotional state and some personality traits. Analyses showed that participants experienced a slowing of time while waiting, and this was stronger in one of the social condition. The slowing down of time was explained by the boredom felt during waiting, while no significant difference was observed between the waiting conditions, neither for boredom nor for the other emotions. In addition, the results showed that the POTj was not significantly related to duration estimation. Therefore, by manipulating an original social waiting situation, the present study adds to a growing literature that attempts to understand the mechanisms underlying temporal distortions.