Social features in faces modulate temporal perception: Effects of eye contact and race

要旨

Previous studies showed that eye contact alters time perception. However, inconsistent findings have been reported regarding whether eye contact leads to an underestimation or overestimation of time. This study investigated how the race of facial stimuli influences time perception during eye contact among Japanese university students. In Experiment 1, participants completed the time bisection task using static images of Japanese and Caucasian faces with either direct or averted gaze. The results showed no significant effect of gaze direction but significant effect of race: participants perceived the duration of Japanese faces as shorter. In Experiment 2, we created a dynamic eye contact situation by dynamically presenting sequential face images with different gaze directions. The results revealed that participants were more likely to perceive time as longer when the gaze was directed toward them, indicating a clear eye-contact effect. These findings suggest that the method of facial image presentation influences time perception.

主題