Note: [] Korrespondenzadresse: Dr. Marc Wittmann, Department of
Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, CA 92093
– 9116A, La Jolla, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Over the last decades, empirical work in time perception research
has mainly focused on internal clock models but the field is now undergoing
transformations. More recently, a growing body of evidence has shown that the
experience of time is not encapsulated, rather, time perception influences, and
is influenced by, emotional and cognitive states. Here, I will show that
temporal processes are indeed tightly coupled to cognitive and emotional
processes. For this, I will discuss the relations between human perception of
time and both psychological well-being and cognitive abilities within current
psychological and neurobiological theories of temporal processing.
Specifically, the focus will be on a wide range of time experiences together
with the psychological and neural mechanisms underlying these experiences. A
more precise description of these mechanisms would find clinical applications
in neurology and psychiatry. The perception of duration and that of temporal
order evolve on different time scales and human time experiences range from
milliseconds to decades. What are the relations between such time scales of
time experience and human experiences whether in an everyday setting or a
clinical one? Here, I will propose that the experience of time is in fact an
indicator of cognitive and emotional states.
Keywords: Time perception, passage of time, temporal order, duration, cognitive functioning, psychological well-being
