3-2-1, action! A combined motor control-temporal reproduction task shows intentions, motions, and consequences alter time perception

Time estimation is a necessary mechanism for most cognitive functions. Common theories of temporal cognition therefore position the sense of time as part of central cognitive processing, influenced by perception, memory, and affective state, and used for timing judgements and timed responses. In contrast to stages of processing models, action-perception theory argues that action-representations alter perception and cognition. Here, we propose that the dynamic, sensorimotor relationship between intention and action outcomes determine time perception. This hypothesis was tested in three experiments (total N = 94, 57 female, 34 male, 3 non-binary, age 28.6, SD 7.3 years) that combined a motor control task with a temporal reproduction paradigm. Within a timed interval (T1), participants tracked a linear moving target using a pointing device, then matched T1 by manually reproducing it. Despite the tracking being independent of T1's objective duration, the experiments consistently showed subjective time was biased by action and perception properties. Experiment 1 showed distance of tracking target and sensorimotor resistance increased temporal estimates bias while delay of visual action outcomes reduced these bias. Experiment 2 replicated these findings in an online sample, while Experiment 3 partially extended them towards temporal anticipation. Across studies, experimental manipulation of cognitive demands and use of passive control conditions show that neither attentional mechanisms nor perceptual differences can account for the observed effects on time estimation. Instead, we argue that action representations alter time perception and that our sense of time is shaped by the intentions behind, motions during, and consequences of our behaviour in time and space.