Constant Velocity
The constant velocity hypothesis, a theory proposed by Jones and Huang (1982), attempts to account for this temporal illusion. When stimuli are displayed successively, our brain incorporates a prior expectation of speed when judging spatiotemporal intervals. This assumption of velocity can influence our perception of the distance between stimuli. For the judgment of spatial intervals, the visual system and our brain work together to incorporate knowledge of the average duration of the temporal intervals between stimuli and apply it to expected temporal intervals that would be required to traverse the given distance between two stimuli at constant velocity. The constant velocity hypothesis suggests that when individuals observe successive stimuli, they expect the temporal separation between each stimuli to reflect uniform motion Consequently, the observer assumes that a given distance in spatial separation between stimuli requires a certain amount of temporal separation that is based on uniform motion. Therefore, this assumption of motion is applied to sequences of things as they unfold. As a result, the kappa effect occurs when all of our knowledge about motion gets applied to these sequences, which sometimes causes us to make mistakes
Read more about this topic: Kappa Effect
Famous quotes containing the word constant:
“A solitary traveler whom we saw perambulating in the distance loomed like a giant. He appeared to walk slouchingly, as if held up from above by straps under his shoulders, as much as supported by the plain below. Men and boys would have appeared alike at a little distance, there being no object by which to measure them. Indeed, to an inlander, the Cape landscape is a constant mirage.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)