A Psychophysical Investigation of Divided Time Intervals Shown by Sound Bursts

Abstract

Every divided time interval shorter than 500ms in two experiments is presented by three sound bursts. The length of divided interval is remarkably overestimated to the length of empty interval when the divider is far from both the markers and the divided interval comes before the empty variable interval. Under such a condition, discontinuously high values of PSE appear, which shows the effect of subjective dividing. Rated dividing ratio comes always nearer to 1/2 than physical dividing ratio, and the trend is stronger when the divided interval is physically shorter. The following hypothesis can explain our data: (1) The subjective length of a subjectively divided time interval is equal to the sum of the subjective lengths of all the parts. (2) The subjective length of a subjectively empty time interval is in proportion to the sum of its physical length and a constant(≑80ms).