TY - JOUR
T1 - Distortions in time perceptions during task switching
AU - Xu, Shan
AU - David, Prabu
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017
PY - 2018/3
Y1 - 2018/3
N2 - Perceived time passage and time duration were examined in a between-subjects design with four conditions: watching a sitcom, reading a journal article, occasional switching between sitcom and article, frequent switching between sitcom and article. Consistent with our prediction, time “flew by” in the high-entertainment condition that involved watching a sitcom, whereas time “dragged on” in the low-entertainment condition that involved reading a journal article. Switching between the two led to quicker passage of time than the low-entertainment condition, but not the high-entertainment condition. A different pattern was evident for duration estimation, with no difference between the low- and high-entertainment conditions, but a longer estimation of duration in the switching condition. Further, frequency of switching between the sitcom and article did not make a difference. These findings suggest that switching between tasks leads to overestimations of time spent on media.
AB - Perceived time passage and time duration were examined in a between-subjects design with four conditions: watching a sitcom, reading a journal article, occasional switching between sitcom and article, frequent switching between sitcom and article. Consistent with our prediction, time “flew by” in the high-entertainment condition that involved watching a sitcom, whereas time “dragged on” in the low-entertainment condition that involved reading a journal article. Switching between the two led to quicker passage of time than the low-entertainment condition, but not the high-entertainment condition. A different pattern was evident for duration estimation, with no difference between the low- and high-entertainment conditions, but a longer estimation of duration in the switching condition. Further, frequency of switching between the sitcom and article did not make a difference. These findings suggest that switching between tasks leads to overestimations of time spent on media.
KW - Entertainment
KW - Media measure
KW - Media multitasking
KW - Task switching
KW - Time duration
KW - Time passage
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85035777385&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.chb.2017.11.032
DO - 10.1016/j.chb.2017.11.032
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85035777385
VL - 80
SP - 362
EP - 369
JO - Computers in Human Behavior
JF - Computers in Human Behavior
SN - 0747-5632
ER -