A timely issue

The subject of time appears across domains of science and the humanities. One can find it in philosophy, physics, biology, and psychology. In each of these fields, it poses a serious scientific problem and on many occasions leads to considerable debate and even the revision of theories. In psychology, time is equally important both as an objective factor, being a foundation for measuring changes, and as a subjective thing, a target of our perceptions and thoughts. This second aspect of time in psychology is the topic of the anthology edited by Simon Grondin. This renowned Canadian researcher has undertaken a very ambitious project by extensively exploring a large theme in one volume. As he admits in the Introduction, " The list of impressions we can have about time is long, if not endless, and anyone who takes the time to think about its psychological dimensions remains stunned by this ubiquity, its omnipresence, and its boundless wonder " (p. xi). Luckily, he has succeeded in garnering support from the best researchers in the field. The book opens with a chapter by Jon E. Roeckelein on the history of the concept of time and the pioneering experimental research on it. The scope of the review spans from antiquity through medieval and modern times, to the research in the middle of 20th century. The chapter traces how the notion of subjective time has departed from the general concept of time throughout the history of human thought. The author reviews many positions and theories, but each of them is described both distinctively and concisely. The second chapter, by Simon Grondin, focuses on experimental methods in the psychology of time. The author's intention is to introduce the reader to research methodology as a foundation for understanding the field. The methods are divided into three parts. The first group is called psychophysical methods and includes the classical methods for determining the psychophysical function for perceived durations. The next group, termed animal methods, covers the methods used in animal research, such as those that examine the influence of reward delay period on conditioning efficacy or those that use operant conditioning for time estimation (temporal differentiation, bisection, and generalization). The final group, cognitive methods, relates to the estimation of longer time intervals. Grondin identifies cognitive methods with the first term of Fraisse's distinction between time estimation and time perception. In the final part of the chapter, the methods …