ESTIMATION OF TIME - EFFECTS OF LOCUS OF CONTROL, MENTAL ARITHMETIC AND LENGTH OF TARGET INTERVAL

The estimation of time is often regarded as a cognitive process. Sever al theories have been suggested to explain the relationship between th e information processing load and the estimated length of the target i nterval. These models, however, mainly explain the process of judging intervals during which attention is directed towards the passage of ti me. Also, more importantly, they often do not include variables measur ing individual differences, which could account for some of the contra dictory results obtained. According to the findings in this study, whe n a demanding task is performed, all subjects do not become less accur ate as predicted by the existing models. The results of the present st udy show instead clear differences in the estimations between individu als labeled as having an internal or external locus of control. When p erforming mental arithmetic, these two groups are affected differently in their estimations of intervals of varying length, which might be e xplained in terms of the alleged difference in information processing capacity described in other studies.