Exploring the Role of Physiological Arousal, Perceived Activation, and Valence in Temporal Distortion

Time perception is a fundamental function that allows humans to adapt their behavior to environmental demands, yet subjective temporal experience often deviates from physical time flow. Arousal has long been assumed to be a key determinant of such distortions, with heightened arousal typically linked to duration overestimation. However, empirical findings remain mixed, raising questions about the underlying mechanisms and the factors that may moderate this relationship. The present thesis sought to address these questions by integrating theoretical, systematic, and empirical approaches. First, it clarified the construct of arousal within an affective neuroscience framework, defining its physiological and cognitive dimensions and reviewing the measures commonly employed in experimental research. A systematic review of the literature then identified affective valence as a potential moderator of the arousal–time link, highlighting the need for studies that account for both subjective and physiological components of arousal. Building on these foundations, two experimental studies were conducted. The first examined how subjective and physiological arousal jointly shape temporal judgments by presenting negatively valenced images varying in perceived arousal while recording eye movements. The second extended this approach by using highly arousing stimuli differing in valence and by employing electrocardiogram (ECG) and electrodermal activity (EDA) in both within- and between-subjects designs to address methodological limitations. General results indicated that an effect of arousal on time perception emerges only when arousal manipulation and temporal estimation are concurrent; otherwise, we suggest that distortions may reflect an increase in emotionally relevant attention. Moreover, the effect was found to differ across valences, with negative stimuli being overestimated and positive stimuli underestimated. Taken together, the findings advance our understanding of how arousal and valence interact in shaping temporal distortions, offering a more nuanced account of the mechanisms through which emotionally induced changes in arousal influence the perception of time.