The Effect of Feedback and Reinforcement Learning on Time Perception

Behavioral and electrophysiology studies have shown that humans possess a certain self-awareness of their individual timing ability. However, conflicting reports raise concerns about whether humans can discern the direction of their timing error, calling into question the extent of this temporal metacognition. To understand the depth of this ability, the impact of non-directional feedback and reinforcement learning on time perception were examined in a unique temporal reproduction paradigm that involved a mixed set of interval durations the opportunity to repeat every trial immediately after receiving feedback, essentially allowing a “re-do.” Within this task, we tested two groups of participants on versions where non-directional feedback was provided after every response, or not provided at all. Participants in both groups demonstrated reduced central tendency and exhibited significantly greater accuracy in the re-do trial temporal estimates, showcasing metacognitive ability and an inherent capacity to adjust temporal responses despite the lack of directional information or any feedback at all. Additionally, the feedback group also exhibited an increase in the precision of responses on the re-do trials, an effect not observed in the no-feedback group, suggesting that feedback may specifically reduce noise when making a temporal estimate. These findings enhance our understanding of timing self-awareness, and can provide insight into what may transpire when temporal metacognition or error monitoring is disrupted.