Abstract

The subjective experience of duration varies considerably depending upon fluctuating mental states. When feeling bored, time seems to slow down, and duration expands. When we are entertained, time passes quickly. We propose that felt time is modulated together with the awareness of the bodily self. Regarding inter-individual differences in the perception of time, we recently showed that individuals with higher levels of self-reported impulsivity felt more irritated in a waiting situation and in turn overestimated its duration. Regarding intra-individual differences, we showed that silence after body-related depth relaxation led to longer duration estimates than the same period of silence following a seminar. Our studies concerning longer duration in the minute range are paradigmatic as the ecologically valid situations are sensitive to inter- and intra-individual variations in subjective time.