How state anxiety influences retrospective time perception: the moderated mediation of perceived control and memory bias

ABSTRACT

This study aims to explore how individuals retrospectively perceive time when they are anxious. In Experiment 1, state anxiety (high and low) was induced by a standardised induction procedure, and retrospective time perception was measured using a visual analogue mood scale. In Experiment 2, memory bias and perceived control were tested as the underlying mechanisms of the effect of state anxiety on retrospective time perception. The results suggest that (1) individuals with high state anxiety retrospectively perceive the duration to be longer than individuals with low state anxiety; (2) memory bias mediates the effect of state anxiety on retrospective time perception; and (3) perceived control moderates the mediating effect of memory bias on the relationship between state anxiety and retrospective time perception. Our findings provide a comprehensive model for the mechanisms underlying time inaccuracy in individuals with anxiety and illustrate the important role of perceived control in the process.

KEYWORDS:

• Retrospective time perception
• state anxiety
• memory bias
• perceived control

Data availability

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available in the Mendeley Data [Liu, Jingyuan (2022), Data for “How State Anxiety Influences Retrospective Time Perception: The Moderated Mediation of Perceived Control and Memory Bias,” Mendeley Data, V1, 10.17632/jfmrvc5bv9.1].

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 All the experiments reported in this study received approval from the Tsinghua University Research Ethics Committee (20160907).

2 Independent sample t-tests showed that there were no significant differences regarding scores for perceived control between the high and low state anxiety groups (M_high = 14.21, SD_high = 2.87, M_low = 15.29, SD_low = 3.51, t(122) = −1.877, p > 0.05). Therefore, state anxiety had no effect on perceived control, implying that perceived control could serve as an independent moderator.

Additional information

Funding

The study was funded by the National Social Science Fund of China [Grant Number 20AZD085].