Running Fast and Standing Slow: a Study on the Effect of Gesture Posing on Time Perception

Everyone has 24 hours in a day, but this does not feel the same for everyone. Time perception can be subjective and is affected by a wide range of factors. Studies have shown that presenting pictures with actions can bias observers’ performance in a duration reproduction task. Instead of watching pictures of actions, this research explored the effect of gesture posing on such a time perception bias. Sixty participants were assigned into either a watching or posing group. Compared with the corresponding baseline performance, participants overestimated time duration when viewing or posing pictures suggesting action. A corresponding underestimation was observed when the pictures or gestures suggested inaction. The role of physical gestures and their potential effect on time perception based on the embodiment account is discussed. Further investigation is also proposed to examine the role of the embodiment effect on subsecond time intervals.