40. Choice, responsibility, and the perception of time (part 2)

Abstract

Description/Abstract

Temporal binding is a perceptual phenomenon where the perceived time between a cause and its effect seems shortened. In a previous study, participants experienced less temporal binding when they were coerced into giving another person an electric shock (Caspar et al., 2015). Furthermore, another study found that temporal binding increased when participants had more actions to choose from (Borhani, Beck, & Haggard, 2017; Barlas & Obhi, 2013). Taken together, these studies suggest a relationship between temporal binding and feelings of responsibility. The purpose of the present study was to further investigate the relationship between temporal binding and feelings of responsibility. Specifically, we sought to determine if temporal binding and responsibility judgments measure the same thing.In two experiments, we measured temporal binding and feelings of responsibility while manipulating 1) choice and the 2) interval between the cause and effect. We hypothesized that temporal binding (Exp 1) and feelings of responsibility (Exp 2) would increase when participants had more choices. If so, this would support the use of temporal binding to measure feelings of responsibility. Our results indicated that our variables influenced feelings of responsibility and temporal binding differently. In summary, we do not find evidence to suggest that temporal binding should considered a measure of feelings of responsibility.

Keywords: temporal binding; responsibility