Identification of an Age Maturity in Time Discrimination Abilities

The aim of this study was to identify the age at which parameters of timing performance in a temporal bisection task converge on an adult-like stable level. Participants in the three- to 20-year-old range were tested using a temporal bisection task with sub-second and supra-second durations. The data were divided into two samples. In the first sample, all participants were integrated into the analysis regardless of their success. In the second sample, only performers were inserted. The point of subjective equality (PSE) and the Weber Ratio (WR) were analyzed for each participant in each sample. By fitting a mathematical model to these parameters as a function of age, we showed a large inter-individual variability in the PSE, such that it does not stabilize with increasing age, i.e., during the significant period of development. Interestingly, time sensitivity (WR) shows a similar pattern through the two samples as adult-like performance appeared at an earlier age for short than for long durations. For the first sample, the modeling of WR data suggests that the children reached an adult-like time sensitivity at the age of six years for the short durations and 8½ years for the long durations. For the second sample, the developmental curve was stable at about the same age for the long duration (seven years), and at earlier age for the short durations, i.e., before three years.