Stretching Time With Velvet: How Affective Materials Shape Our Perception of Time

Research has shown that affective visual and auditory events (e.g., a crying baby) are perceived as lasting longer compared to neutral ones. However, the impact of affective haptic experiences on time perception has hardly been studied. This study investigates the influence of interacting with affective materials on time perception. We selected three materials that are known to evoke pleasant (velvet), unpleasant (sandpaper), and neutral (paper) affective responses. Participants completed a temporal bisection task to assess how each material influenced their perception of time. The task involved presenting the materials in time intervals from 1000 to 2200 ms in 200 ms increments. In each trial, a participant stroked one of the materials, with the duration being limited by two vibrotactile feedback, and judged whether the duration felt closer to a previously learned short or long interval. Expectedly, velvet yielded lower bisection points than paper. Contrary to expectations, bisection points for sandpaper – despite being an unpleasant material – did not significantly differ from that for the control material, paper. These findings suggest that while pleasant haptic material experiences can extend perceived time, unpleasant materials may not have an effect. This effect is partially consistent with the observed time lengthening during affective auditory and visual events.