Thesis
The Effects of Total Sleep Deprivation on Time Estimation
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000005025
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of total sleep deprivation on time estimation. N = 86 healthy adults (47 females, age 21 – 38) completed a 4-day/3-night in-laboratory study with 10-hour sleep opportunities on the first and third nights, and a 38-hour total sleep deprivation (TSD) period (TSD condition) or a 10-hour sleep opportunity (control condition) on the second night. A computerized time estimation assessment was administered twice during the study – once after 7h of wakefulness and once after 31h or 7h of wakefulness (TSD and control group, respectively). Two separate tasks were used in the time estimation assessment: interval production and prediction motion. For the interval production task, participants were to produce an interval of either 5, 10, or 15 seconds. For the prediction motion task, a ball moved down the screen at a constant speed, then became occluded partway down, and participants indicated when they believed the ball had reached the bottom of the screen. The duration for which the ball was occluded was randomized to either 5, 10, or 15 seconds. Performance was quantified in terms of bias, which provided a metric of individuals’ tendency to over- or underestimate the target duration, and variability, which was a measure of how variable individuals were in their estimates of the target duration. The results showed that on both tasks, sleep deprivation was associated with a tendency to underestimate the target duration, implying an accelerated perception of time. Additionally, there was a significant effect of sleep deprivation on variability for the prediction motion task, but not for the interval production task. This indicates that sleep-deprived individuals were more variable in their ability to track the movement of an occluded object and estimate when it will reach a target, but not in their ability to estimate a target number of seconds. Finally, correlations between the interval production and prediction motion tasks during session 1 (when all participants were well-rested) revealed that performance on the two tasks was not related, indicating that there may be different processes or techniques involved in completion of the tasks.
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Details
- Title
- The Effects of Total Sleep Deprivation on Time Estimation
- Creators
- Emily Morgan Moslener
- Contributors
- Kimberly A Honn (Advisor)John M Hinson (Advisor)Paul Whitney (Committee Member)Devon A Hansen (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of Psychology
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 36
- Identifiers
- 99901019936701842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis