This project started with my naive and utopian hypothesis: 'Is there any one experience, equally memorable for everybody, that affects people‘s ordinary lives in a meaningful way afterward?‘ To explore this matter from multiple angles, I needed a research location that already had strongly staged experiences with a clear theme, diverse actors, and its own narratives. And I hit upon the right place: Disneyland Paris. To discuss 'the experience‘, I categorized peoples‘ different impressions of their experiences at Disneyland Paris. When I interviewed staff and visitors on their way out of Disneyland Paris, some people said that their experience had been awful, while others said it had been fantastic. What makes for such different responses to the same place? Two theorists declare, 'Experiences are inherently personal and no two people can have the same experience, because each experience derives from the interaction between the staged event (like a theatrical play) and the individual‘s state of mind‘ (Pine Ⅱand Gilmore, 1998). Since the individual‘s state of mind cannot be grasped and is a broad research term, in this thesis I am mostly concerned with the key experience-generating elements: age and social role. The ultimate purpose of this project is to investigate the pre-and post-experience at the entrance and exit of a given venue for a special experience with a clear theme, that bridge connecting visitors‘ and staff‘s everyday experiences to the staged experience. The practical outcome of this research-led project consists mainly of various trials of a procession that engages visitors at the borders of the venue. This research will consist of the following: 1) Analytical reflection upon visitors‘ and staff‘s one-day experience in a Disney theme park, based on narrative structure and perception of time, 2) Observations of different time perceptions in adults and children, 3) Definition of flow of experience (pre-experience / main experience / post-experience), and 4) Presentation of a new model of participatory stories in a given theme1 to smooth the flow of experience. 1Disneyland Paris was my chosen site for the theoretical background, and the practical methodologies are developed through Konstfack‘s 2011 spring exhibition. What this project intends to do, however, is not to upgrade the experiences in both, but rather to focus on the experiments in order to vary the existing definitions of the flow of experience. The final outcome is intended to be applied to the diverse venues that aim to offer their visitors special experiences with a clear theme. This has been an in-depth exploration of how experience design can be applied as a renewing force, or 'twist‘, to help people experience immersive moments and to gain unforgettable memories which, in turn, influence their future experiences. / <p>Research question: How can experience design be used to connect the daily experience of visitors and staff with memorable commercially staged experiences in an existing theme park (e.g. Disneyland Paris)?</p>

Consumers are constantly evaluating quantitative information, such as the prices of different products, the time spent on an activity, or the distance covered during one day. Substantial research in psychology has demonstrated that judgments of quantity in one dimension (e.g., numbers) influence subsequent judgments on another dimension (e.g., time). The present research contributes to a growing body of work by exploring how the shared representation of time, space, and numbers affects consumer perceptions and behaviors. My first dissertation essay explores how the organization of time on a spatial plane affects temporal judgments, product evaluations, and intertemporal discounting (i.e., time-space interaction). It has been well documented that Western consumers typically arrange temporal sequences following a past-left, future-right spatial pattern. Merging insights gained from numerical cognition and time psychology, the author develops a framework to explain how displaying temporal sequences congruently with this spatial organization of time increases subjective estimations of time and biases consumers toward present rewards. My second dissertation essay seeks to understand how and why expressing quantitative information in symbolic code (i.e., “6”) compared to verbal code (i.e., “six”) affects magnitude judgments and product evaluations (i.e., time-number interaction). Two rival accounts to explain the symbol-verbal effect are described and tested: (1) a systematic processing account based on Arabic symbols’ perceptual and cognitive features and (2) a fluency account based on the frequency of use and facilitation of processing Arabic symbols. This research has important managerial implications related to the effective communication of quantitative information.

D.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / There is a growing consciousness of the importance of productivity improvement in the Republic of South Africa as a solution to economic problems like poverty, unemployment and. the growing inflation rate. The problem has grown to such proportions that the organizing committee of the President's Council recommended in May 1987 that the school has to play an important role in the education of children to become productive workers. A solution to the problem of the lack of growth in productivity which has not as yet received the necessary attention, is the role time plays in the economy. It is especially people's perception of time and the accompanying attitudes towards the utilization of time that is important. In this regard education and guidance-can play an important role, as this aspect has rightly to do with the creating of children's perceptions and attitudes. To date, little research results are available on the time perception of individuals. Empirical data where the relationship between time perception and productiveness is explored is not readily available in present literature. Research was therefore undertaken on the time perception of children and adults A newly designed questionnaire was used for this purpose. The questionnaire was completed by 6 840 pupils, 253 teachers and 297 bank officials. Concerning validity and reliability, a principal component factor analysis (PCA) was followed by a principal factor analysis (PFA) in a first order analysis. The first order analysis was followed by a second order PCA and PFA. The variables resultinq from this factor analysis procedure were then subjected to an item analysis. The identified variables, i.e. passive fatalistic and Actiye integrated time perception were used to investigate the difference in time perception of the different groups. There upon a study was made of the relationship between the time perceptions of pupil and their productiveness, based on the children's school performance. Similarly the time perceptions of adults were studied in relationship to their productiveness as measured by the performance evaluation as done in their occupational situation. Multivariate (MANOVA & Hote~ling's Tsquare), as well as univariate (ANOVA, Scheff6 and Student test) hypotheses on population group, sex, standard, qualification, age, language and religion were tested. significance was tested on the l' and 5' level. From the findings of the study the following emerged: * A general tendency exists that prod~ptive pupils, bank officials and teachers, have a higher average scale value on active integrated time perception in comparison to less productive people. On the other hand, less productive people have a higher scale value on the passive fatalistic -e time perception in comparison to productive people * Significant differences exist between the average scale value of productive people in comparison to less productive people obtained on a time perception scale. This is true within each population/language group, as well as when groups are compared. * Both in the case of age and improved qualifications, it was indicated that less productive as well as productive people's averages on active integrated time perception scale~ increase with age and higher qualifications. * There are significant differences between the time perception of productive and less productive people within the different religions.

The primary investigation of this thesis was the relationship between information processing and the internal clock. Clicks trains have previously been found to increase internal clock rate and information processing (Jones, Allely & Wearden, 2010). Chapter 1 examines the existing literature on the internal clock and information processing. Chapter 2 reviews possible mechanisms underlying the effect of clicks and Chapter 3 outlines the research strategy and aims. Chapter 4 investigates the behavioural parallels between internal clock speed and information processing. Chapter 5 explores the parametrics of clicks using a 1, 2 and 4 choice reaction time (RT) task (Experiment 1a, b & c). Overall, RT was reduced on trials preceded by clicks compared to no-clicks and we found that this advantage of clicks can persist for up to 10s. Chapter 6 investigates whether any prestimulus event (in this case white noise) would have the same effect as clicks in tasks of verbal estimation (VE), RT and mental arithmetic (Experiment 2a, b & c). White noise was found to have no effect on either information processing or internal clock speed, which strengthens the idea that the clicks effect is mediated by its influence on the speed of the internal clock. Chapter 7 explores whether processing the clicks as opposed to passively experiencing them would change their effect on a 1, 2 and 4 choice RT and VE task (Experiment 3a & b). Both experiments included two experimental groups (Ask & Don't Ask). In the Ask group, participants had to actively process the clicks by reporting whether there had been a shift in pitch in the clicks. In the Don't Ask they were never asked this. Experiment 3a found longer RTs across all conditions in the Ask group compared to the Don't Ask group suggesting that this processing manipulation had an effect on information processing. Experiment 3b explores the same change to the stimuli in a VE task and found that the click processing manipulation had no detrimental effect on the typical effect produced clicks. Both click types increased verbal estimates of duration in both the Ask and Don't Ask groups. Greater overestimation was found with the clicks compared to the click-change condition. So the processing manipulation had an effect on information processing while leaving the internal clock spared, weakening the idea of a link between the two processes. Frequency and duration of the clicks were manipulated in Experiment 4a and b (Chapter 8) in tasks of RT and VE. Experiment 4a demonstrated no significant effect of frequency on RT. In Experiment 4b, the main findings highlighted the importance click duration not frequency. Experiment 5 (Chapter 9) addresses the question of whether participants have a simultaneous lengthening of subjective duration as well as an increase in information processing by investigating the effect of clicks on memory recall and time estimation of the same stimuli. Overall, clicks enabled participants to correctly recall more letters as well as increasing participants' verbal estimates. Experiment 6 (Chapter 10) used clicks to change the rate of memory decay using a 3, 5 and 8 s delay. Clicks increased the rate of memory decay for the 3 and 5 s delay duration only. In order to explore whether the effect of clicks is due to arousal, Chapter 11 replaced clicks with arousing visual (Experiment 7a) and auditory stimuli (Experiment 7b) in a VE task. There was no relationship between arousal and time estimation. Experiment 8 (Chapter 12) explores whether estimating the duration of emotionally arousing auditory stimuli themselves has an effect on the internal clock. No relationship between arousal and time estimation was evident. Experiment 9 (Chapter 13) explores electrophysiological arousal in a VE task. While there was a behavioural effect of clicks, they did not alter physiological arousal. These findings have major implications for the common notion that arousal mediates the effect of clicks.

The present study aimed to evaluate (a) the extent to which different impulsivity measures would be related to each other and to a risk taking measure, (b) the extent to which impulsivity, risk taking, time perception and time perspective are related to each other, and (c) the extent to which these processes differ in Latino and White American students. Experiment I was conducted at Utah State University. One hundred and fortythree participants were exposed to the delay discounting, probability discounting and temporal bisection procedures, and answered the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) and the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI). Results showed that (a) the AUC for delay discounting was related to the scores on the BIS-11 scale, (b) the AUCs for delay and probability discounting were positively and significantly correlated, (c) the mean of the temporal bisection procedure was correlated with the AUC of the delay discounting procedure, (d) the scores on the ZTPI were correlated with the impulsivity measures, and (e) the scores on the ZTPI subscales were also correlated with the risk taking measure. These results suggest that different impulsivity measures may be evaluating similar decision-making processes, that impulsivity and risk taking may be different decision- making processes, and that time perception and time perspective are related to impulsivity and risk taking. Experiment II was conducted at Washington University in St. Louis, with 18 Latinos and 16 White Americans. Results show that while Latinos were more impulsive in the delay discounting procedure, their scores did not differ from the White Americans on the BIS-11. Interestingly, Latinos and White Americans did not differ on time perception, but they did differ on time perspective: Latinos scored higher on fatalism compared to White Americans.

This study investigated the relationship between visual cues in art reproductions, simple linguistic time vocabulary and children's temporal understandings. During interview sessions, 33 third-grade students attending two suburban schools were asked to place three art postcard reproductions sets in chronological order. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded for analysis. Linguistic references used to represent historical time and visual cues within the art postcards which caused students to place art works in a particular time sequence were documented.

Yes / A key question for temporal processing research is how the nervous system extracts event duration, despite a notable lack of neural structures dedicated to duration encoding. This is in stark contrast with the orderly arrangement of neurons tasked with spatial processing. In this study, we examine the linkage between the spatial and temporal domains. We use sensory adaptation techniques to generate after-effects where perceived duration is either compressed or expanded in the opposite direction to the adapting stimulus’ duration. Our results indicate that these after-effects are broadly tuned, extending over an area approximately five times the size of the stimulus. This region is directly related to the size of the adapting stimulus—the larger the adapting stimulus the greater the spatial spread of the aftereffect. We construct a simple model to test predictions based on overlapping adapted versus non-adapted neuronal populations and show that our effects cannot be explained by any single, fixed-scale neural filtering. Rather, our effects are best explained by a self-scaled mechanism underpinned by duration selective neurons that also pool spatial information across earlier stages of visual processing. / J.H. is supported by the Vision Research Trust (43069). N.W.R. is supported by a Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellowship (WT097387).

Yes / We investigated whether changes in low-level image characteristics, in this case spatial frequency, were capable of generating a well-known expansion in the perceived duration of an infrequent “oddball” stimulus relative to a repeatedly-presented “standard” stimulus. Our standard and oddball stimuli were Gabor patches that differed from each other in spatial frequency by two octaves. All stimuli were equated for visibility. Rather than the expected “subjective time expansion” found in previous studies, we obtained an equal and opposite expansion or contraction of perceived time dependent upon the spatial frequency relationship of the standard and oddball stimulus. Subsequent experiments using equi-visible stimuli reveal that mid-range spatial frequencies (ca. 2 c/deg) are consistently perceived as having longer durations than low (0.5 c/deg) or high (8 c/deg) spatial frequencies, despite having the same physical duration. Rather than forming a fixed proportion of baseline duration, this bias is constant in additive terms and implicates systematic variations in visual persistence across spatial frequency. Our results have implications for the widely cited finding that auditory stimuli are judged to be longer in duration than visual stimuli. / Wellcome Trust, UK, the Federation of Ophthalmic and Dispensing Opticians, UK, and the College of Optometrists, UK.

Yes / In conflict with historically dominant models of time perception, recent evidence suggests that the encoding of our environment’s temporal properties may not require a separate class of neurons whose raison d'être is the dedicated processing of temporal information. If true, it follows that temporal processing should be imbued with the known selectivity found within non-temporal neurons. In the current study, we tested this hypothesis for the processing of a poorly understood stimulus parameter: visual event duration. We used sensory adaptation techniques to generate duration aftereffects: bidirectional distortions of perceived duration. Presenting adapting and test durations to the same vs different eyes utilises the visual system’s anatomical progression from monocular, pre-cortical neurons to their binocular, cortical counterparts. Duration aftereffects exhibited robust inter-ocular transfer alongside a small but significant contribution from monocular mechanisms. We then used novel stimuli which provided duration information that was invisible to monocular neurons. These stimuli generated robust duration aftereffects which showed partial selectivity for adapt-test changes in retinal disparity. Our findings reveal distinct duration encoding mechanisms at monocular, depth-selective and depthinvariant stages of the visual hierarchy. / The Wellcome Trust [WT097387].

A distortion of time is often reported under the presence of stress or threatening stimuli, for instance motor vehicle accidents or near-death experiences. There is a lack of research on the complexity of time distortion under stress; thus, the present study aimed to explore the relationship between stress and time perception. Given the challenges associated with producing a stress response in a laboratory setting, difficult tasks have been previously used to produce a stress response, such as anagram tasks. However, it remains unknown whether experiencing time pressure while completing a stressful task can also influence time distortion. To investigate this, participants completed either an easy or difficult anagram task and received either an unspecified time limit or no time limit to complete the task. It was hypothesized that participants would experience the greatest distortion of time when the task was difficult, and they were provided an unspecified time limit. Contrary to the hypothesis, we failed to find differences in task performance or time perception across the various conditions, which may be explained by the inability to produce a stress state. While stress manipulation was unsuccessful, the findings suggest utilizing multiple tasks may be more effective at replicating a physiological or psychological stress state. Thus, the results of this study warrant further investigation to examine the relationship between stress, time pressure, and time distortion.