Effects of regular and irregular rhythms on time perception: The role of aksak and non-metric rhythms

Authors : İlker Kömürcü

Pages : 557-571

Doi:10.31811/ojomus.1647605

View : 70 | Download : 60

Publication Date : 2025-07-28

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This study aims to examine the effects of regular and irregular rhythmic structures on subjective time perception and, in this context, to investigate the role of aksak and non-metric rhythms. Specifically, the study compares the effects of irregular rhythms, non–metric rhythms, and a control condition (silence) on participants’ ability to estimate time intervals. 72 undergraduate students participated in the experiment in a controlled laboratory environment. The participants were randomly divided into control, aksak rhythm, and non-metric rhythm groups. In order to ensure that the initial conditions of the groups were equal, the data collection tools were applied as a pretest. During the subjective time perception assessment process, the groups were asked to perform Time Estimation, Time Production, and Time Reproduction tasks in the retrospective and prospective paradigms. While the control group performed the tasks in silence, the first experimental group was exposed to aksak rhythm, and the second was exposed to non-metric rhythm. During the experiment, the participants were asked to estimate the durations of time intervals presented with the relevant auditory stimuli. The study’s data were evaluated in terms of the ratios of estimated times to actual time durations and based on groups’ pretest and posttest scores. Additionally, the effects of the gender and age variables of the study group on subjective time perception were examined. The research results revealed significant inconsistencies in time perception among the experimental groups. Participants in the Control and Aksak Rhythm Groups demonstrated more accurate time estimations than those in the Non-metric Rhythm Group. Participants in the Aksak Rhythm Group made estimations close to absolute time as the participants in the control group. Therefore, aksak rhythmic patterns do not appear to have a negative effect on subjective time perception. In contrast, Non-metric rhythmic patterns tend to cause time to be perceived as slower than it is. The variables of gender and age (18-26 age range examined) were not found to affect subjective time perception significantly.
Keywords : öznel zaman algısı, ritim yapıları, zaman tahmini, aksak ve metrik olmayan ritimler, ritim ve biliş

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