The Development of Space-Time Interactions: A Paradoxical Effect of Age Modulated by Sensory Context and Task Difficulty

This study aimed to investigate the impact of spatial perception on time perception, and vice versa, in both auditory and visual modalities, as well as the influence of task difficulty in the visual modality. The experiment was conducted with children aged 5–6 years, 7–8 years, and adults. Participants completed four tasks over two days: one temporal bisection task and one spatial bisection task in each modality. In the visual modality, stimuli consisted of points appearing on a screen, whereas in the auditory modality, spatially distributed sounds were presented. In both cases, participants were asked to indicate whether the duration or the distance was “short” or “long”. Data analyses included ANOVAs, calculations of Weber Ratios (WR) and Bisection Points (BP). Initial results revealed a significant interference effect of space on time perception, particularly in the visual modality and interference effect of time on space in the auditory modality. In both modalities, these interference effects were more pronounced in older participants. Furthermore, greater task difficulty was associated with a stronger effect of space on time perception. Overall, the findings highlight a strong developmental component in the perception of time and space.