#68. Music Changes Your Ability to Perceive Time
In researching whether music causes a change in time perception, it appears that, yes, there is some truth to this, but not in the way you would think. There are many experiments testing this with hold music, wait time in lines, and video games. In all of the research I read, there is a link between music and time perception, but the consensus seems to be that it has more to do with whether the music is entertaining, stimulating, or preferred. It seems that when people choose and like the music, time goes more slowly. This may be because when music is more familiar/pleasing to us, we pay more attention to it. This causes us to allocate more “brain power” toward the music and less toward processing/perceiving length of time (Kellaris & Kent). This was true across the board with the exception of a study for hold music. There, music had a positive effect however, it didn’t really change time perception.
In addition to preference and familiarity, pitch and tempo have an effect on time perception as well. When participants played a driving game listening to music chosen by researchers, their estimated times were off by a great deal as compared to with their own music. Basically, the music they liked made them think the driving course took longer than it actually did. When the music was more stimulating and up tempo, they thought they were finishing the course faster than they actually did (Cassidy & McDonald, 2010).
Basically, time does not necessarily fly when you are having fun and in fact it may slow significantly. Our perception is affected.
Antonides, G. M., Verhoef, P.C., & van Aalst, M. (2002). Consumer Perception and Evaluation of Waiting Time: A Field Experiment. Journal Of Consumer Psychology (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates), 12(3), 193-202. http://search.ebscohost.com.libprox1.slcc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pbh&AN=7431243&site=ehost-live
Cassidy, G. R., & MacDonald, R.A.R., (2010). The effects of music on time perception and performance of a driving game. Scandinavian Journal Of Psychology, 51(6), 455-464. http://search.ebscohost.com.libprox1.slcc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pbh&AN=55450148&site=ehost-live
Kellaris, J. J., & Kent, R.J. (1992). The Influence of Music on Consumer's Temporal Perceptions: Does Time Fly When You're Having Fun?. Journal Of Consumer Psychology (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates), 1(4), 365. http://search.ebscohost.com.libprox1.slcc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pbh&AN=4815723&site=ehost-live