Temporal Order Threshold – Jade Gibbs
Temporal Order Threshold and Simultaneity are terms used in “Felt Time”, by Marc Wittman, which details tests done by cognitive psychologists to describe the variability of an individual’s interval of perceived time. The Temporal order threshold is the minimum time between two events that is required for the brain to perceive them as not simultaneous. At an interval that is shorter than the temporal order threshold, two events whether simultaneous or not will be perceived as simultaneous to the brain. Temporal Order Threshold varies among different people and different senses, with shorter thresholds ~20-60ms (higher temporal resolution) correlated with younger people, and longer thresholds correlated with older people whose cognitive performance diminished with age. There is a weaker correlation between intelligence and temporal order threshold, meaning having a lower threshold is not an indicator of intelligence. The temporal order threshold can also differ based on what kind of expertise a person has. For example, musicians who have highly trained listening skills can more clearly distinguish tones played in rapid succession as not occurring simultaneously. The unit of time it takes to perceive two events is evidence of a natural brain rhythm that is truly subjective and can cause differences in how people perceive time. The Temporal Order Threshold is how humans are able to perceive a series of images exchanged in rapid succession as one continuous motion, allowing us to experience movies and video games. Research conducted by cognitive psychologists discovered that the upper left temporal lobe and lower parietal lobe play a key role in determining Temporal Order Threshold. Patients who suffered damage to these areas display a higher threshold. These patients also suffered speech and understanding impairment as a smaller threshold is required to distinguish sounds as discrete phonetic events and not as simultaneous.
References:
Wittmann, Marc, and Erik Butler. Felt Time: The Psychology of How We Perceive Time. The MIT Press, 2016.
Related term: Psychological moment
Grondin, Simon. The Perception of Time: Your Questions Answered. Routledge, 2020.
