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Aging and the subjective experience of time

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Abstract

Background

The subjective experience of time involves several, not yet identified, mechanisms. Many cognitive and emotional factors, such as attention, memory and subjective mental states can influence time estimation.

Aims

We aimed to assess the subjective experience of time and its relationships with cognitive and emotional characteristics in the elderly.

Method

Forty-nine non-demented patients hospitalized for orthopedic rehabilitation underwent an ‘ecological’ evaluation tool, the semi-structured QUEstionnaire for the Subjective experience of Time (QUEST) requiring retrospective and prospective judgements on self-relevant time intervals. All patients completed tests to assess general cognitive functioning and two questionnaires to evaluate emotional state.

Results

Results showed that accuracy in time estimation did not differ in young–old vs. old–old individuals: both groups performed better on prospective than on retrospective items and on highly than on poorly self-relevant items. Multiple regression analysis showed that performance on QUEST was significantly related to depression and hospitalization duration, but not to age, education, or neuropsychological scores.

Conclusions

The influence of the emotional state is consistent with theories postulating that the “sense of time” is emergent from emotional and visceral states.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinic Center Rehabilitation Institute, Naples, Italy

    Claudio Crisci

  2. Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Viale Ellittico 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy

    Michelina Caccavale & Luigi Trojano

Authors
  1. Claudio Crisci
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  2. Michelina Caccavale
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  3. Luigi Trojano
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luigi Trojano.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

No author has any conflict of interest to disclose.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Appendix

Appendix

QUEstionnaire for Subjective experience of Time (QUEST)* including highly self-relevant (HR) and poorly self-relevant (PR), prospective (Pro) and retrospective (Ret) questions.

Item 1 (HR-Ret)-How long have you been staying in this Hospital?

Item 2 (HR-Ret)-How many days ago did you undergo surgery?

Item 3 (PR-Pro)-How long will you have to wait for your next meal?

Item 4 (PR-Ret)-How long did your physical therapy session last today (yesterday)?

Item 5 (HR-Pro)-Could you tell me how many days there are before next Christmas (Easter)?

Item 6 (HR-Pro)-In how long time will your relatives (friends) come to visit you?

Item 7 (PR-Ret)-How long has this interview lasted?

Item 8 (PR-Pro)-Could you drop a hint in 4 min?

Instances of participants’ responses.

Item 1: “…unfortunately I have to be there for much longer, I’m here only from 30 days…”.

Item 2: “…The operation, don’t make me think about, I was so scared, well, maybe 45 days have passed….”.

Item 3: “…I think in half an hour…”.

Item 4: “…well, I’d say 25 min, as it usually lasts…”.

Item 5: “…well, more or less 90 days, I’d say 90, this is the next event, I hope I’ll be well by then.

Item 6: “…I wait for them, I believe they will come in a couple of days…”.

Item 7: “…I think it lasted 10 min, a little more a little less, I would say that I have not noticed how much time elapsed…”.

Item 8: “…well, I would say now, I’m focusing on time and now I’m sure that 4 min have elapsed…”.

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Crisci, C., Caccavale, M. & Trojano, L. Aging and the subjective experience of time. Aging Clin Exp Res 28, 327–332 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0403-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0403-7

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