Temporal binding, the perceived compression of time between voluntary actions and their effects, is a key implicit measure of the sense of agency. Previous studies have shown that temporal binding is strongest when the effect follows the action with close proximity of approximately 200 ms. However, it remains unclear whether this optimal temporal proximity is a fixed feature of cognitive processing or adaptable to contextual changes.
In this study, participants performed key presses that triggered auditory effects after specific default time intervals, with occasional unpredictable "oddball" intervals. Participants were divided into two groups: one experienced a default action-effect interval of ~200 ms with oddball intervals of ~550 ms (“short-default”), while the other group experienced the reverse (“long-default”). Using a Libet clock, participants estimated the timing of both their actions and the effects.
Our findings revealed that in the short-default group, significant action-effect binding occurred in both trial types, with stronger binding for longer delays. In contrast, in the long-default group, binding was markedly reduced or even completely eradicated, even for the shorter intervals that are typically associated with stronger temporal binding. These results suggest that temporal expectations and context can dynamically recalibrate temporal distortions, highlighting the flexibility of temporal binding in response to environmental cues.
This study provides new insights into how temporal distortions may be modulated by context, challenging the notion of temporal proximity as a fixed cognitive mechanism in temporal binding.