The effect of age on the relationship between self-regulation and the subjective experience of time

The effects of age and self-regulation on duration judgments are both previously explored parameters (e.g., Block, Zakay, & Hancock, 1998; Vohs & Schmeichel, 2003). However, age has not been examined as a potential moderator of the relationship between self-regulation and the experience of time. It was hypothesized that older participants would experience the passage of time as being faster than younger participants when self-regulating, but that no differences would be found between age groups in the control condition. Older (M = 52.4 years) and younger participants (M = 18.9 years) assigned either to a self-regulation or a control condition each completed four tasks and were asked to estimate when specified lengths of time had passed (i.e., duration judgments) for each task. Results indicate that age differences in the experience of time have not emerged by middle age, and that the effect of self-regulation on the experience of time may depend upon an important methodological factor - the type of duration judgment being made.