THE PRESENTATION OF LONG TERM DURATION OF BODY MOVEMENT IN IMPRESSIONIST ARTWORKS DIFFERENTLY DISTORT THE PERCEPTION OF TIME

This work verified whether images implying movement exposed for fixed different durations affect the perception of time. Undergraduate participants observed pictures of sculptures of dancers by Edgar Degas for 9, 18, 27 or 45 seconds (G9, G18, G27 and G45 groups, respectively) and the stimuli were randomly presented in arithmetical (1.5-, 3.0- and 4.5-point) or geometrical (1.5-, 3.0- and 6.0-point stimuli) progressions. The reproduction method to record the time estimations of the subjects was used. Data analysis showed that time was not distorted in the G9, G18 and G45 groups, except: 6.0-point stimulus was overestimated in geometrical (G9) and 1.5-point was underestimated in arithmetical (G45) progressions. However, time distortions in the G27 group were modulated by different implied movement intensities as was observed in previous works that used 36 s of image exposure. These results show that different processes involving the visual perception of movement in static images are also associated to the different exposure duration. Time perception is surprisingly subject to distortions. Temporal judgments are constructions of the brain which are also easy to experimentally manipulate (Eagleman, 2008). Cognitiv