Time Flows With the Changing of Events.
Matthew Logie, Marianna Lamprou-Kokolaki, Virginie Van Wassenhove
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences November 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.70446 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Humans Cognition Time perception Memory, long-term Segmentation Cognitive psychology Unification Salient |
| Key points | Proposes that the experience of time and the formation of long-term memories share a common basis in contextual change: events are encoded when sufficient change occurs, and subjective time is determined by an accumulation of changes creating temporal distances between memories. Argues that memory provides temporal tags at multiple nested timescales without needing to match clock seconds, and that duration estimates require reconstruction between anchor points. |
Abstract
In recent years, investigations into the psychological experience of time have rapidly accelerated. The experience of time could depend on a ticking internal clock or rely on contextual changes within and between events. Cognitive theories of memory propose that the presence of event boundaries, as defined by unexpected changes, is crucial for the segmentation of sequenced content and ultimately, the formation of long-term memories. Interestingly, the experience of change also influences the temporal distances between memories. Concurrent lines of research have developed similar theories on the experience of time, with salient contextual changes distorting temporal experience. Herein, we propose a unification of theories from the fields of time and memory. Events are creatively constructed and encoded into long-term memory if sufficient changes occur. The subjective experience of time is also determined by an accumulation of changes creating temporal distances between memories. The encoding of memories provides temporal tags at multiple nested timescales, with no need to synchronize with the relative number of seconds that have passed, and duration estimates require a reconstruction of information between anchor points. Time does not exist without change, and experiencing change is fundamental for the formation of lasting memories.