PROSPECTIVE AND RETROSPECTIVE DURATION JUDGMENTS - A METAANALYTIC REVIEW

A meta-analytic review compared prospective and retrospective judgment s of duration, or duration judgment paradigm. Some theorists have conc luded that the two paradigms involve similar cognitive processes, wher eas others have found that they involve different processes. A review of 20 experiments revealed that prospective judgments are longer and l ess variable than are retrospective judgments. Several theoretically i mportant variables moderate these effects, especially those concerned with information processing activities. Therefore, somewhat different cognitive processes subserve experienced and remembered duration. Atte ntional models are needed to explain prospective judgments, and memory -based models are needed to explain retrospective judgments. These fin dings clarify models of human duration judgment and suggest directions for future research. Evidence on duration judgments may also influenc e models of attention and memory.