INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN THE STUDY OF TIME PERCEPTION

The present chapter addresses individual differences and the testing of models, with implications for the functioning of the (hypothesized) internal clock, and its major parts, processes, and interactions: (a) working memory; (b) attention; and (c) arousal. Then three ways of looking at individual differences are proposed: (a) individual differences in the parameter values of a psychophysical model; (b) individual differences and deviations from linearity; and (c) differences between individuals (e.g., ADHD, meditators) in time perception. The psychobiology of personality and time perception will be then presented considering five major psychobiological traits: (a) extraversion; (b) neuroticism; (c) psychoticism; (d) impulsivity; and (e) sensation seeking. The next section looks at cognitive neuroscience and time perception and addresses four major areas of brain activity: (a) the insula; (b) the prefrontal cortex; (c) the supplementary motor area; d) the cerebellum; and one family of measures of electrophysiological activity of the brain—(e) EEG alpha parameters. The final section revisits the Block and Zakay (2001) turn-of-the-century review of time perception that emphasized the need to take individual differences into account for understanding the experiences and judgments of time.