Chronemics Chronemics is the study of the use of time in nonverbal communication.

The way we perceive time, structure our time and react to time is a powerful communication tool, and helps set the stage for the communication process. Across cultures, time perception plays a large role in the nonverbal communication process. Time perceptions include punctuality, willingness to wait, and interactions. The use of time can affect lifestyles, daily agendas, speed of speech, movements and how long people are willing to listen. Time can also be used as an indicator of status. For example, the boss in most companies can interrupt progress to hold an impromptu meeting during the middle of the work day, yet the average worker would have to make an appointment to see the boss. The way different cultures perceive time can influence communication as well. For example, most Americans will schedule a meeting for a specific time such as 2:15 p.m., and expect all involved parties to be punctual at the specified time. In many cultures in Central America and South America, however, they may set a time to meet "sometime in the afternoon" and on many occasions the schedule is broken, changed or deadline unmet. Cultures are usually put into two time system categories: monochronic and polychronic. Monochronic and Polychronic time systems are two systems commonly used to refer time and its influence on society. A monochronic time system means that things are done one at a time and time is segmented into precise, small units. Under this system time is scheduled, arranged and managed. The United States is considered a monochronic society. This perception of time is learned and rooted in the Industrial Revolution, where "factory life required the labor force to be on hand and in place at an appointed hour" (Guerrero, DeVito & Hecht, 1999, p. 238). For Americans, time is a precious resource not to be wasted or taken lightly. "We buy time, save time, spend time and make time. Our time can be broken down into years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds and even milliseconds. We use time to structure both our daily lives and events that we are planning for the future. We have schedules that we must follow: appointments that we must go to at a certain time, classes that start and end at certain times, work schedules that start and end at certain times, and even our favorite TV shows, that start and end at a certain time. As communication scholar Edward T. Hall wrote regarding the Americans viewpoint of time in the business world, the schedule is sacred. Hall says that, for monochronic cultures such as the American culture, time is tangible and viewed as a commodity where time is money or time is wasted. The result of this perspective is that Americans and other monochronic cultures such as the German and Swiss, place a paramount value on schedules, tasks and getting the job done. These cultures are committed to regimented schedules and may view those who do not subscribe to the same perception of time as disrespectful.

A polychronic time system is a system where several things can be done at once, and a more fluid approach is taken to scheduling time. Unlike Americans and most northern and western European cultures, Latin American and Arabic cultures use the polychronic system of time. These cultures are much less focused on the preciseness of accounting for each and every moment. As Raymond Cohen notes polychronic cultures are deeply steeped in tradition rather than in tasks -- a clear difference from their monochronic counterparts. Cohen notes that "Traditional societies have all the time in the world. The arbitrary divisions of the clock face have little saliency in cultures grounded in the cycle of the seasons, the invariant pattern of rural life, and the calendar of religious festivities" (Cohen, 1997, p. 34). Instead, their culture is more focused on relationships, rather than watching the clock. They have no problem being late for an event if they are with family or friends, because the relationship is what really matters. As a result, polychronic cultures have a much less formal perception of time. They are not ruled by precise calendars and schedules. Rather, cultures that use the polychronic time system often schedule multiple appointments simultaneously so keeping on schedule is an impossibility. Polychronic Cultures

Saudi Arabia Egypt Mexico Philippines

Predictable patterns between cultures with differing time systems Monochronic People Polychronic People

do one thing at a time

do many things at once

concentrate on the job

are highly distractible and subject to interruptions

take time commitments (deadlines, schedules) consider an objective to be achieved, if seriously possible

are low-context and need information

are high-context and already have

information

committed to the job

are committed to people and human relationships

adhere religiously to plans

change plans often and easily

are concerned about not disturbing others; follow rules of privacy and consideration

are more concerned with those who are closely related than with privacy

show great respect for private property; seldom borrow or lend

borrow and lend things often and easily

emphasize promptness

base promptness on the relationship

are accustomed to short-term relationships

have strong tendency to build lifetime relationships

Co-Cultural Perspectives on Time While the clash between the monochronic and polychronic perceptions of time can rifle the best of intentions in international settings, similar challenges can occur within a coculture. In the United States, the Hawaiian culture provides an example of how cocultures can clash. Two times systems exist in Hawaii where the Polynesians live somewhere between two time systems: Haole time and Hawaiian time. When you hear someone say See you at two oclock haole time, that means that they will see you at precisely two oclock. But if you hear someone say, I will be there at two oclock Hawaiian time then the message has an entirely different meaning. This is because Hawaiian time is very lax and basically means when you get there.

Time Orientations The way an individual perceives time and the role time plays in their lives, is a learned perspective. As discussed by Alexander Gonzalez and Phillip Zimbardo, "every child

learns a time perspective that is appropriate to the values and needs of his society" (Guerrero, DeVito & Hecht, 1999, p. 227). There are four basic psychological time orientations: 1. Past 2. Time-line 3. Present 4. Future Each orientation affects the structure, content, and urgency of communication. (Burgoon, 1989). The past orientation has a hard time developing the notion of elapsed time and these individuals often confuse present and past happenings as all in the same. People oriented with time-line cognitivity are often detail oriented and think of everything in linear terms. These individuals also often have difficulty with comprehending multiple events at the same time. Individuals with a present orientation are mostly characterized as pleasure seekers who live for the moment and have a very low risk aversion. Those individuals who operate with future orientation are often thought of as being highly goal oriented and focused on the broad picture. The use of time as a communicative channel can be a powerful, yet subtle, force in face-to-face interactions. Some of the more recognizable types of interaction that use time are:

Regulating interaction: This is shown to aid in the orderly transition of conversational turn-taking. When the speaker is opening the floor for a response, they will pause. However, when no response is desired, the speaker will talk a faster pace with minimal pause. (Capella, 1985) Expressing intimacy: As relationships become more intimate, certain changes are made to accommodate the new relationship status. Some of the changes that are made include lengthening the time spent on mutual gazes, increasing the amount of time doing tasks for or with the other person and planning for the future by making plans to spend more time together. (Patterson, 1990). Affect management: The onset of powerful emotions can cause a stronger affect, ranging from joy to sorrow or even to embarrassment. Some of the behaviors associated with negative affects include decreased time of gaze and awkwardly long pauses during conversations. When this happens, it is common for the individuals to try and decrease any negative affects and subsequently strengthen positive affects. (Edelman & Iwawaki, 1987). Evoking Emotion: Time can be used to evoke emotions in an interpersonal relationship by communicating the value of the relationship. For example, when someone who you have a close relationship with is late, you may not take it personally, especially if that is characteristic of them. However, if it is a
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meeting with a total stranger, their disrespect for the value of your time may be taken personally and could even cause you to display negative emotions if and when they do arrive for the meeting.

Facilitating service and task goals: Professional settings can sometimes give rise to interpersonal relations which are quite different from other "normal" interactions. For example, the societal norms that dictate minimal touch between strangers are clearly altered if one member of the dyad is a doctor, and the environment is that of a hospital examination room.

The Effect of Cultural Roots on Time Orientation Just as monochronic and polychronic cultures have different time perspectives, understanding the time orientation of a culture is critical to becoming better able to successfully handle diplomatic situations. Americans, for instance have a future orientation. Hall indicates that for Americans tomorrow is more important" and that they "are oriented almost entirely toward the future (Cohen, 2004, p. 35). The futurefocused orientation attributes to at least some of the concern that Americans have with addressing immediate issues and moving on to new challenges (Cohen, 2004, p. 35). On the other hand, many polychronic cultures have a past-orientation toward time. The Chinese, for instance, place great significance on the past. As Cohen discussed, For the Chinese, the opium wars of the nineteenth century and the Boxer Rebellion are still relevant to and come up in the discussion of contemporary issues (Cohen, 2004, p. 36). These time perspectives are the seeds for communication clashes in diplomatic situations. Trade negotiators have observed that American negotiators are generally more anxious for agreement because they are always in a hurry and basically problem solving oriented. In other words, they place a high value on resolving an issue quickly calling to mind the American catchphrase some solution is better than no solution (Cohen, 2004, p. 114). Similar observations have been made of JapaneseAmerican relations. Noting the difference in time perceptions between the two countries, former ambassador to Tokyo, Mike Mansfield commented Were too fast, theyre too slow (Cohen, 2004, p. 118). The Influence of Chronemics on Global Affairs Just as there are different time zones, so too are there different perceptions of time across cultures all of which can influence global communication situations. When writing about time perspective, Gonzalez and Zimbardo comment that There is no more powerful, pervasive influence on how individuals think and cultures interact than our different perspectives on timethe way we learn how we mentally partition time into past, present and future. (Guerrero, DeVito & Hecht, 1999, p. 227) Depending upon where an individual is from, their perception of time might be that the clock rules the day or that well get there when we get there. Improving

prospects for success in the global community requires understanding cultural differences, traditions and communication styles. The monochronic-oriented approach to negotiations is direct, linear and rooted in the characteristics that illustrate low context tendencies. The low context and individualistic culture approaches diplomacy in a lawyerly fashion with draft arguments, a mission and an idea of how they will move the process along. A monochronic culture, more concerned with time, deadlines and schedules, tends to grow impatient and want to rush to close the deal. More collectivistic, polychronic-oriented cultures come to diplomatic situations with no particular importance placed on time. Rather than worry about the ticking of the clock, they are more willing to let time tick away if it means they are having a meaningful discussion and are forming strong relationships. The collectivistic culture is also high context. Rather than rely on verbal, the high context negotiator operates with a greater emphasis on nonverbal communication. Chronemics is one of those nonverbal channels of communication, and their treatment of time illustrates their perspective of time. Instead of watching the clock, they are more deeply concerned with discussing broad themes and philosophies before details of a negotiation are addressed. Above all else, they place far less value on simply reaching agreement for the sake of meeting a deadline. Rather, the place far more value on ensuring that the outcome of any agreement is good and looks good so that they can preserve face, as is the norm in the collectivist culture. Understanding these cultural differences and perspectives on time can greatly improve future negotiations in the international community. Chronemics and Power at Work Time has a definite relationship to power. Though power most often refers to the ability to influence people (Guerrero, DeVito & Hecht, 1999, p. 314), power is also related to dominance and status (Guerrero, DeVito & Hecht, 1999, p. 315). In the workplace, those in a leadership or management position treat time and by virtue of position have their time treated differently than those who are of a lower stature position. Anderson and Bowman have identified three specific examples of how chronemics and power converge in the workplace waiting time, talk time and work time.

Waiting Time

Researchers Insel and Lindgren (Guerrero, DeVito & Hecht, 1999, p. 325) write that the act of making an individual of a lower stature wait is a sign of dominance. They note that one who is in the position to cause another to wait has power over him. To be kept waiting is to imply that ones time is less valuable than that of the one who imposes the wait.

Employees of equal stature will not worry about whether they are running a few minutes behind schedule to meet with one another. On the other hand, for a mid-level manager who has a meeting with the company president, a late arrival might be a nonverbal cue that you do not respect the authority of your superior.

Talk Time

There is a direct correlation between the power of an individual in an organization and conversation. This includes both length of conversation, turn-taking and who initiates and ends a conversation. Extensive research indicates that those with more power in an organization will speak more often and for a greater length of time. Meetings between superiors and subordinates provide an opportunity to illustrate this concept. A superior regardless of whether or not they are running the actual meeting lead discussions, ask questions and have the ability to speak for longer periods of time without interruption. Likewise, research shows that turn-taking is also influenced by power. Social psychologist Nancy Henley notes that Subordinates are expected to yield to superiors and there is a cultural expectation that a subordinate will not interrupt a superior (Guerrero, DeVito & Hecht, 1999, p. 326). The length of response follows the same pattern. While the superior can speak for as long as they want, the responses of the subordinate are shorter in length. Albert Mehrabian noted that deviation from this pattern led to negative perceptions of the subordinate by the superior. Beginning and ending a communication interaction in the workplace is also controlled by the higher-status individual in an organization. The time and duration of the conversation are dictated by the higher-status individual.

Work Time

It is not likely that you will ever see a president or a high level executive punching a time clock. Their time is perceived as more valuable and they control their own time. On the other hand, a subordinate with less power has their time controlled by a higher status individual and are in less control of their time making them likely to report their time to a higher authority. Such practices are more associated with those in nonsupervisory roles or in blue collar rather than white collar professions. Instead, as power and status in an organization increases, the flexibility of the work schedule also increases. For instance, while administrative professionals might keep a 9 to 5 work schedule, their superiors may keep less structured hours. This does not mean that the superior works less. They may work longer, but the structure of their work environment is not strictly dictated by the traditional work day. Instead, as Koehler and their associates note individuals who spend more time, especially spare time, to meetings, to committees, and to developing contacts, are more likely to be influential decision makers (Guerrero, DeVito & Hecht, 1999, p. 327). A specific example of the way power is expressed through work time is scheduling. As Yakura and others have noted in research shared by Ballard and Seibold, scheduling reflects the extent to which the sequencing and duration of plans activities and events are formalized (Ballard and Seibold, p. 6). Higher-status individuals have very precise and formal schedules indicating that there stature requires that they have specific blocks of time for specific meetings, projects and appointments. Lower status
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individuals however, may have less formalized schedules. Finally, the schedule and appointment calendar of the higher status individual will take precedence in determining where, when and the importance of a specific event or appointment. Relationship to Chronemics In some cultures, people place a high value on time and use time as a basis for decisions. In other cultures, time is less significant. For example, in Mexico or Central America tour guides may fail to indicate the correct arrival and departure times. In other countries, such as Switzerland, a traveler can set his or her watch by the promptness of the trains. When these cultures cross, expectancy with respect to time is violated and can cause discord between the people involved. Pausing in between statements is usually an indicator that an individual is going to lie or be deceptive in their response. The deceiver can control these nonverbal cues, perhaps in a way that will even throw off the other person so that they will not know if it is the truth or deceit. This manipulation of time to create confusion decreases the odds that the deceiver will not be discovered. The old statement When in Rome, do as the Romans do holds true with IAT (Interpersonal Adaptation Theory which states that adaptation in interaction is responsive to the needs, expectations, and desires of communicators and affects how communicators position themselves in relation to one another and adapt to one another's communication ) and chronemics. There will be situations when even though you are a very timely person, you may have to deal with someone who is not as timely as you are and adapt your communication to their needs. These adaptations can vary depending on the position of the person you are dealing with, as well as the cultural background of that person. It is also important to remember that although you will sometimes have to adapt to others, there will be times that things would be more positively balanced if the other parties adapted to your concept of time. Time Perception Block (1990) has identified four factors that provide a context within which psychological time is perceived: characteristics of the time experiencer, time-related behaviors and judgments, contents of a time period, and activities during a time period. We will adopt Block's framework, and discuss each of the four factors. Although we will consider each factor separately, Block stresses the interrelationships among the four factors; changes in one factor are likely to induce changes among the other factors.

Characteristics of the Time Experiencer

In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams (1979) satirizes the foibles of modern people, including our obsession with digital wristwatches. Keeping track of the passage of time is certainly important to many people, but the level of concern varies among cultural groups and even among people of a single culture (Levine, 1988; 1990). The pace with which people lead their lives certainly indicates the extent to which their actions are in keeping with the Latin phrase "Tempus fugit" ("time flies"). In developing objective measures of the importance of time to people in various American cities, Robert V. Levine (1990) and his colleagues made use of four measures: the speed with which bank tellers made change, the talking speed of postal clerks, the walking speed of pedestrians, and the proportion of pedestrians wearing wristwatches. Levine found that the Northeastern United States is more fast-paced than the Western United States. For instance, the three fastest-paced cities surveyed were Boston, Buffalo, and New York. The three slowest-paced cities surveyed were Shreveport, Sacramento, and Los Angeles. Furthermore, there was a moderate correlation between the pace of life and the rate of death from heart disease. Because of the correlational nature of the study, one cannot conclude that a faster pace of life leads to an increase in heart attacks. Nonetheless, the results are intriguingly consistent with our beliefs about the relationship between stress and heart disease. Without a timepiece, or even conscious awareness, people perceive the passage of time. For instance, many of us believe that we can go to sleep without an alarm and wake up at a predetermined time. In fact, the evidence suggests that although more people can perform such a feat than should happen by chance, a relatively small proportion of us possess this particular ability (Campbell, 1990) . Nonetheless, virtually everyone is aware of the passage of time, and can estimate its passage with some accuracy. The means by which organisms perform this task, however, remains something of a mystery. Many organisms, including humans, appear to organize their lives around the light/dark cycle of a typical day. The behavioral patterns that emerge are referred to as circadian rhythms because they are organized around a period of approximately one day (in Latin circa means approximately and dies means day). The adaptive advantages of using external cues from the environment are apparent. If an organism could use sun-position cues, for example, to keep track of the passage of time, then it could tell that a flower's nectar was likely to have been replenished or that prey are likely to return to drink from a river. As a result, if you feed an animal at a regular time, it will begin to salivate in anticipation of food at the appropriate time, even if no other feeding cues are present (Campbell, 1990) . External cues, such as the sunrise, serve to trigger circadian rhythms, which then continue without additional external input (Block, 1990) . In the absence of continuous time-of-day cues, many internal states exhibit circadian rhythmicity, including hormonal levels and body temperature. Such circadian rhythms are the product of an internal clock of some sort. Research suggests that this biological clock might well be located in a brain structure near the optic chiasm (Block, 1990). The nearness of the biological clock to the visual pathway illustrates the importance of light as a trigger mechanism. Imagine what would happen if you were to live for a long while in a cave or a room with only artificial light and no clocks. In the interest of research on time perception and circadian rhythms, several people have lived under just such

conditions. The length of their "day" becomes elongated, and is often roughly 25 hours long. Further, when asked to estimate the length of an hour by pressing a button with the passage of each hour, the typical subjective hour is longer than an actual hour. People's estimates are also widely variable, suggesting that judgments of these durations are extremely imprecise. In Scott S. Campbell's (1990) terms, estimation of these longer durations is characterized by both sluggishness and sloppiness. Time perception might well be influenced by physiological state, knowledge, personality, and other factors. For instance, there is some evidence that a person with a high fever shortened her estimates of a 1-sec interval and that a person who lived in a cold cave lengthened his time estimates. The evidence for the contribution of metabolic rate to time perception is weak, but would be consistent with a biological clock. The fact that knowledge and experience also play a role (Theme 4), however, argues that there is a cognitive component in time perception. Alberto Montare (1985; 1988) has found that providing feedback to people about the accuracy of their time estimations increases the accuracy of subsequent judgments. Montare did not find gender differences, suggesting that time perception might be equivalent among men and women. Overall, then, the research suggests that people have a biological clock that regulates various internal circadian rhythms. However, because of the sloppiness and sluggishness of that regulation, and because of the effects of experience, it is unlikely that our perception of time is due solely to this same clock. Time-Related Behaviors and Judgments We've already mentioned some ways in which researchers have assessed people's perception of time. Dan Zakay (1990) provides several examples of methodological differences and the ways in which they might influence judgments of time. It is important to discuss these various measures because, as Fraisse (1984) emphasizes, "Results are neither comparable nor homogeneous across methodologies" (p. 10). We will now discuss four classes of measures, or dependent variables, used by researchers in studying time perception: estimation, production, reproduction, and comparison (Zakay, 1990). There are several variants of the estimation procedure. First, participants in the study could simply estimate time passage in some standard units of time such as seconds or minutes. A duration could be presented, and immediately after the time period, participants would estimate time passage. For instance, rather than estimating the number of minutes or seconds that had passed, participants could assign a number value or a line length to match their impression of the duration. Finally, an estimation might be made with a rating scale. For example, the two ends of the rating scale might be labeled "short time interval" and "long time interval." Alternately, the ends might be labeled "time passed quickly" and "time passed slowly" (e.g., Joubert, 1984). A second class of dependent variable involves time production. Participants could be told to press a button and release it, for example, when they thought that 2 minutes had passed. This procedure can be used to explore time perception in both humans and other organisms (Wearden & McShane, 1988). A third class of dependent variable requires participants to reproduce a given time period. The experimenter could present a time interval of a certain duration, perhaps 2 minutes, without telling the participants the number of minutes that had passed. The participants would then be

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asked to match the duration of the interval presented previously. Finally, a comparison procedure might be used. One procedure would be to present two different durations and ask a person to identify which of the two was longer. The two-alternative forced choice method could also be used. Using this method, two different durations could be presented (A and B) and then a duration (X) could be presented and the observer asked to label the final duration (X) as either A or B. The estimation and reproduction approaches can be applied in experimental situations in which participants expect to make time judgments or are surprised by being asked to make time judgments. For example, Brown and Stubbs (1988) asked some undergraduates to listen to several musical selections and to pay close attention to the selections because of a subsequent questionnaire; no mention was made of duration. Other undergraduates were asked to remove their watches and to listen to the same selections in an effort to estimate their durations. Just as Montare found that feedback about accuracy improves timing judgments, Brown and Stubbs found that people are more accurate when they know that they will be judging duration. Studies of time typically involve levels of time in the independent variable. We have already seen that some studies require people to judge the duration of fairly long time periods, such as hours. In other research, such as that of Montare (1985; 1988), much shorter durations are used (4 or 12 secs). Generally, people tend to overestimate brief intervals and underestimate longer intervals (Zakay, 1990). Further, researchers believe that longer intervals beyond 5 secs involve memory (Fraisse, 1984). Consistent with the results reported above, Crystal (2006) argues that time is not perceived in a linear fashion. That is, one minute will not appear to be one sixtieth of an hour. Moreover, there is not a simple linear translation of perceived time into actual time. Crystal discusses the multiple-oscillator theory of timing, the broadcast theory of timing, and the stochastic counting cascades approach -- all of which are consistent with nonlinear representation of time.

Contents of a Time Period Events that occur during the interval being judged have a major influence on duration estimation. For example, stimulus intensity is important. Fraisse (1984) concludes that more intense sounds and lights are judged longer than less intense stimuli. This phenomenon is particularly true for vision. Stimulus complexity also influences duration estimation. Poynter and Homa (1983) presented flashing lights, which flashed on and off in either a simple, regular pattern or a more complex, irregular pattern. Using the reproduction technique of duration estimation, participants provided longer estimates for the more complex patterns. Furthermore, when participants look at a display of dots, the perceived duration depends upon the number of dots and the velocity with which the dots are

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rotated. The greater the number of dots (Mo, 1975) or the faster the speed of rotation (Tayama, Nakamura & Aiba, 1987), the longer the time interval seems to be. Duration estimates also depend upon whether the interval is segmented or unsegmented. Poynter (1983) prepared two kinds of tape recordings. Both consisted of 27 nouns and the names of 3 U.S. presidents, and each recording lasted 170 seconds. However, in the unsegmented recording, all 3 presidents' names appeared first, followed by the 27 nouns. In the segmented recording the three presidents' names appeared in positions 10, 20, and 27, thereby creating three segments, or parts, in the recording. Poynter found that the unsegmented recording was judged to be shorter than the segmented recording. Recall the filled space-open space illusion. Do you think that a duration will seem longer if it is filled or empty? Ornstein (1969) proposed that a filled interval should appear to be longer, and some data support his position. As we'll discuss in the next section, the activities with which a person fills a time period are also thought to influence time perception. However, there are other data that suggest that filled intervals are not always perceived as being longer. Jones and Boltz (1989) argue that the expectancies created by the information filling an interval are more important than the absolute quantity of information filling the interval. For instance, songs that ended unexpectedly early were judged to be shorter in duration. So time perception is influenced by several higher-level processes, including expectations, consistent with Theme 4. Most studies of time perception don't specifically involve auditory stimuli, but it is clearly the case that time is crucial for audition. In fact, durations that would not be perceived by our visual system have profound implications for our auditory system. You might assume, therefore, that the perceived duration of auditory stimuli would differ from the duration of visual stimuli. However, Schab and Crowder (1989) found little or no difference in the accuracy of judgments of intervals greater than 1 sec that were presented visually or auditorily. Music represents one type of auditory stimulus for which timing is crucial (Jones, 1990). The timing with which the notes are played determines the tempo, or overall pace of the piece of music (slow or fast). Just as Andrea Halpern (1989) found that people had good memories for the typical pitch of familiar songs, she also found that people remember the tempos of familiar songs, although they were tolerant of both faster and slower tempos (Halpern, 1988). Musicians can maintain identical tempos and still change the internal temporal organization of a song, called meter or rhythm. If you've heard the same melody played as rock and reggae or jazz, then you know the importance of rhythm. Even the melody itself is strongly determined by timing. The melodies of two of the songs of The Music Man "Seventy-Six Trombones" and "Goodnight My Someone" are composed of virtually identical notes played with substantial timing differences, such that the two songs do not sound at all similar. Notice, then, that stimulus characteristics can have an important influence on duration estimates. A time period is judged longer if it is intense, complex, or segmented. A time period marked by auditory stimuli is judged no more accurately than a time period marked by visual stimuli. Some evidence suggests that a filled time period is perceived as longer than an empty time period, although it appears that this might well be due to expectations derived from the information filling the time period.

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Activities during a Time Period The activities of the person during the time interval being judged typically interact with the contents of the duration, making the distinction between these two areas somewhat arbitrary. Generally, you can think of the activities of the observer as requiring greater or lesser amounts of cognitive effort. Often the contents of the duration produce these differing attentional demands. Some stimuli require more cognitive processing, and we may judge time on the basis of the amount of cognitive "work" required of a person during an interval (Luce, 1984). The important factor, apparently, is not the complexity of particular stimuli presented, but the complexity of the task in which a person is engaged (Block, 1990). For instance, one study asked people to estimate time passage, in number of seconds, for a tone sounded while they were performing another task (Tsao, Wittlieb, Miller & Wang, 1983). When the other task was extremely demanding, they were more likely to underestimate time. For example, a 63-second interval was estimated as 38 seconds when the other task was extremely demanding, in contrast to 49 seconds when people were performing no other task. Rather than use different competing tasks, Brown and West (1990) had people perform simultaneous duration judgments. The letters A, B, C, and D could appear in one of the four corners of a computer screen for durations between 6 and 16 seconds. Each letter would be on the screen for a different duration, and each would start and stop at different times. People who were asked to keep track of all four letters were much less accurate in their time estimates than people asked to keep track of only one letter, providing further evidence for the position that timing performance is disrupted with increasing attentional demands. Two proverbs emphasize the impact of a person's activities on time perception. You've heard the proverb, "A watched pot never boils." This saying has inspired several studies to determine whether people overestimate time when they are waiting for an event. Cahoon and Edmonds (1980) told participants in their study that the experiment would start after a delay; the experimenter said he would return later. One group was told to call the experimenter when the water in a glass coffee pot started to boil, whereas a control group did not receive these instructions. In both cases the experimenter returned 4 minutes later and asked the participants to estimate how long he had been gone. The duration estimates were significantly longer for participants in the "watched-pot" group. Note that these results are consistent with the hypothesis that filled time intervals appear to be longer than equal unfilled intervals. Contrast these results with another proverb, "Time goes quickly when you're having fun." This proverb suggests that filled time intervals can appear to be shorter than unfilled intervals if the task is a pleasant one. Thayer and Schiff (1975) asked female participants to estimate duration in a neutral condition and then in an experimental condition in which they gazed at another person. This other person was either smiling or scowling. The duration of the interval was either 12 or 36 seconds, and participants were asked to reproduce the time interval on a masked stopwatch. The time estimates were significantly longer when the face was scowling than when it was smiling. Thayer and Schiff studied perceived duration when the contents were pleasant or unpleasant, but what about the duration spent waiting for a pleasant or unpleasant event? Does the time spent waiting for the trip to the dentist appear to be shorter or

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longer than the time spent waiting for a vacation trip? Edmonds, Cahoon, and Bridges (1981) found that the duration spent waiting for a positive experience appeared longer than the duration spent waiting for a negative experience. The activities in which a person is engaged also interact with the type of study being conducted. As Block (1990) says, "Experienced duration depends on variables such as the amount of attention to temporal information, whereas remembered duration involves contextual changes in memory" (p. 30). Thus, you might expect the activities of an experiencer of time to be more of a factor when the person knows that they are going to have to judge the duration of a forthcoming interval. So the perception of time is a complex process involving several interrelated factors. As a means of organizing the information on time perception, we have chosen to focus on the framework proposed by Block (1990). Our brief review of the field suggests that individual differences are substantial in time perception, and that characteristics of the person judging time intervals has an impact on time perception. How a researcher chooses to design a time perception study also appears to have an impact. The structure of the central task in which people are engaged, as well as any peripheral tasks they have to perform, seem to have an impact on time perception. Further, in keeping with Theme 4 of this text, our sense of time certainly involves higher-order processes, as indicated by the importance of learning and attentional demands.

Summary: Time Perception 1. Four factors appear to influence time perception: characteristics of the time experiencer, time-related behaviors and judgments, contents of a time period, and activities during a time period. 2. Time is of greater concern to different cultures and different groups within the same culture. Nonetheless, all people have a number of internal processes that follow circadian rhythms, suggesting the presence of an internal biological clock. 3. In time perception research, one might choose a dependent variable from among several options: (a) time estimation, using common units (mins, secs), magnitude estimation, or rating scales; (b) time production; (c) time reproduction; and, (d) comparisons of time intervals. 4. The contents of a time period influence duration estimates; a time period is judged longer if it is intense, complex, and segmented. Some evidence suggests that a filled time period is perceived as longer than an empty time period, although it appears that this might well be due to expectations derived from the information filling the time period. 5. Activities of the participants influence duration estimates; a time period is judged less accurately if people are performing other tasks simultaneously. Time appears to pass more quickly if people are waiting for an unpleasant event, or if the situation in which they are engaged is pleasant.

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Intercultural Skills Test 1. Seniority In which country is it a must to greet the oldest, most senior person of a group first and to line up according to seniority during group introductions? Choose-:China Russia Norway India Ireland 2. Negative feedback Which of the following countries is the most and least direct when it comes to giving negative feedback? Please number them from 1 to 5, 1 being the most direct and 5 being the most indirect: Italy -- 1 2 3 4 5 England -- 1 2 3 4 5 2345 China -- 1 2 3 4 5 3. Reasoning The way people reason varies considerably based on their cultural background. Some cultures are more inductive, e.g. when presenting their point, others tend to be more deductive. This deeply rooted way of thinking manifests itself in many areas such as holding a presentation. Characterize the following nations with regard to their reasoning: Inductive: go from the result Deductive: lead to the result Canada -Choose- Inductive Deductive In between UK -Choose- Inductive Deductive In between France -Choose- Inductive Deductive In between Sweden -Choose- Inductive Deductive In between 4. Comfort with silence In some cultures silence is a form of respect, others see it as part of the communication process, some cultures feel very uncomfortable in silence and try to avoid it, e.g. by doing small-talk. Do the same exercise as in no. 3, now with regard to a cultures comfort with silence. India -Choose: Medium, Low comfort, High comfort; Germany -Choose: Medium, Low comfort, High comfort; U.S.A.-Choose: Medium, Low comfort, High comfort; Japan Choose: Medium , Low comfort, High comfort. Time 5.1 The strife for ongoing progress, when accompanied by the philisophical importance of capitalism, results in such views as time is money. Which of the following countries does this saying come from and still form the basis of their daily motivations? Choose: Australia, England, U.S.A., Mexico, Austria 5.2 Some cultures tend to be more monochronic, some polychronic. In monochronic cultures time moves linearly, people deal with one thing at a time, scheduling is important, and people do not want to be interrupted. In polychronic cultures it is seen
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Germany -- 1 2 3 4 5

France -- 1

more natural for many things to happen at once. People do not feel compelled to always be on schedule, interruptions are taken in stride. Characterize the following cultures with regard to their time orientation. Switzerland -Choose- Monochronic Highly monochronic Polychronic Highly polychronic Italy -Choose- Monochronic Highly monochronic Polychronic Highly polychronic France -Choose- Monochronic Highly monochronic Polychronic Highly polychronic UK -Choose- Monochronic Highly monochronic Polychronic Highly polychronic U.S.A -Choose- Monochronic Highly monochronic Polychronic Highly polychronic Germany -Choose- Monochronic Highly monochronic Polychronic Highly polychronic Body Language 6.1 In which country is it considered vulgar if you blow your nose in a handkerchief and then return it to your pocket? Choose- China, Germany, France, Spain, Australia 6.2 In which country is it considered impolite to put your hands in your pockets while talking to someone? Choose- Germany, U.S.A., Canada, Italy, England

Test Solution 1. Seniority In which country is it a must to greet the oldest, most senior person of a group first and to line up according to seniority during group introductions? China 2. Negative feedback Which of the following countries is the most and least direct when it comes to giving negative feedback? Please number them from 1 to 5, 1 being the most direct and 5 being the most indirect: Italy 4 England 3 Germany 1 3. Reasoning France 2 China 5

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The way people reason varies considerably based on their cultural background. Some cultures are more inductive, e.g. when presenting their point, others tend to be more deductive. This deeply rooted way of thinking manifests itself in many areas such as holding a presentation. Characterize the following nations with regard to their reasoning: Inductive: go from the result Deductive: lead to the result Canada inductive UK- inductive; France-deductive; Sweden- in-between

4. Comfort with silence In some cultures silence is a form of respect, others see it as part of the communication process, some cultures feel very uncomfortable in silence and try to avoid it, e.g. by doing smalltalk. Do the same exercise as in no. 3, now with regard to a cultures comfort with silence. India - medium high comfort 5. Time 5.1 The strife for ongoing progress, when accompanied by the philisophical importance of capitalism, results in such views as time is money. Which of the following countries does this saying come from and still form the basis of their daily motivations? USA 5.2 Some cultures tend to be more monochronic, some polychronic. In monochronic cultures time moves linearly, people deal with one thing at a time, scheduling is important, and people do not want to be interrupted. In polychronic cultures it is seen more natural for many things to happen at once. People do not feel compelled to always be on schedule, interruptions are taken in stride. Characterize the following cultures with regard to their time orientation. Switzerland: highly monochronic; Italy: highly polychromic; France: polychromic; UK: monochromic; Germany: highly monochronic 6. Body Language 6.1 In which country is it considered vulgar if you blow your nose in a handkerchief and then return it to your pocket? China 6.2 Germany - medium U.S.A - low comfort Japan-

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In which country is it considered impolite to put your hands in your pockets while talking to someone? Germany

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