The psychology of time perception is one of the most interesting and little-studied topics in psychology. Many philosophers and psychologists believe that time is a subjective concept. Hours, minutes and seconds were created by man only for the convenience of organizing his affairs. In fact, such a division has no meaning for our inner world.
Time flows for us in completely different ways, depending on the internal state, on age. In some minutes we get older faster, in some - slower. Many people dream of stopping time, or at least slowing it down. After all, it inexorably brings us closer to old age and to death.
Consider what lies at the heart of our perception of the passage of time.
THEM. Sechenov, based on experimental data, argued that the psychophysiology of time perception is associated with auditory analyzers and auditory memory. Also, in many ways, the perception of time depends on kinesthetic sensations. They are responsible for the accurate determination of time intervals, for the operation of the so-called internal clocks.
Human life in traditional cultures is more subject to natural cycles. And only with the advent of technological progress and civilization, people begin to learn the social standards of the length of time that make up the system of time scales and measures.
It is not uncommon for a person who is not attached to a certain schedule in his life to “switch” to an individual perception of time, one that suits his body and psyche. Therefore, we have certain internal mechanisms that control the perception of time, but we usually do not notice them, since they are subordinate to the generally accepted measurement system. In other words, for each person, the perception of time consists of two characteristics. Firstly, this is the perception of their own vegetative processes and voluntary movements, and secondly, this is a system of social standards that has developed in culture.
Why is time flowing slower in childhood than in adulthood? There is a point of view that the features of the perception of time depend on the novelty of the information received and the mood for living at the moment. The child constantly receives and processes new information, he is completely immersed in the present, while an adult acts "on the machine", without spending effort on the perception of the new. It is possible to slow down the subjective sense of time if you are aware of each moment you live through. This increases the quality of awareness and the quality of life, respectively, regardless of the number of years lived, life will be felt fuller and longer.
The perception of time always depends on our emotional involvement in the process and the depth of his living. For example, at a boring event, at which we are present “detached”, time drags on unimaginably slowly. If we become participants in exciting events, then the clock flies by in an instant. In retrospect, everything is evaluated in the opposite way. Boring events are not remembered or perceived as quickly flying, and interesting ones are remembered for a long time and felt as longer.
The psychophysiological mechanisms of perception that underlie this feature are as follows. The more activated the processes of excitation in the cerebral cortex, the faster the metabolism in the body occurs, therefore, we feel that the clock passes faster. If the processes of inhibition prevail, then the metabolism slows down, and subjectively, time flows slowly.
The perception of time also depends on the characteristics of a person’s profession, and even on his religion. It is known that in the West and in the East there are two different models of time perception . In Western countries, time is linear and forward-looking. In the East, the present moment, its deep perception and living have great value.
Also during situations of danger, time changes its course. All processes in the body become many times faster, and a person manages to do what he could not in other circumstances. As a result, subjectively, it may seem that time has stopped.
The frontal lobes of the brain are responsible for the planning of actions in time; when they are damaged, a person loses this ability.
The study of time is an interesting and multifaceted topic; many works have been devoted to it. The problem of the passage of time is occupied by both physicists and philosophers. But so far, much remains unclear to science, so in this area man has yet to make many interesting discoveries.