Overestimation in time reproduction: Influences of accuracy feedback and attentional sharing

Abstract

Duration reproduction is often subjective to biases, with a general tendency to overestimate durations, which has been observed in many studies. Yet, this overestimation is frequently dismissed as a nuisance error, and its underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we conducted two experiments to investigate this general overestimation in duration reproduction. To pin down the origin of the error, we manipulated the reproduction output through shortened visual feedback in Experiment 1, while varying the presence of accuracy feedback in Experiment 2. Across both experiments, we observed a consistent overestimation in reproduction when accuracy feedback was absent. This overestimation, amounting to approximately 13.5% on a ratio basis across different durations and sessions, was unaffected by shortened visual feedback. We propose that this consistent overestimation is likely due to the attentional sharing between the action execution and the monitoring of the passage of time during the reproduction process.