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Many Balls in the Air Make Time Fly: The Effect of Multitasking on Time Perception and Time Preferences

Hardardottir, Hjördis LU (2019) In Working Papers
Abstract
In this paper, we study how increasing the cognitive demands of multitasking affects time preferences. The novelty of this paper is that it studied how time perception mediates the effect of multitasking on time preferences. Results from experimental psychology have demonstrated that people tend to experience the passage of time as quicker when they are busy with cognitively-demanding tasks. If time is experienced as passing faster, the future should be experienced as being closer, and patience should increase. However, a standard prediction from behavioral economics is that being cognitively loaded leads to less patient decisions. Our hypothesis is that increases in patience, driven by the speeding up of time, and decreases in patience,... (More)
In this paper, we study how increasing the cognitive demands of multitasking affects time preferences. The novelty of this paper is that it studied how time perception mediates the effect of multitasking on time preferences. Results from experimental psychology have demonstrated that people tend to experience the passage of time as quicker when they are busy with cognitively-demanding tasks. If time is experienced as passing faster, the future should be experienced as being closer, and patience should increase. However, a standard prediction from behavioral economics is that being cognitively loaded leads to less patient decisions. Our hypothesis is that increases in patience, driven by the speeding up of time, and decreases in patience, driven by decreased cognitive capacity, added together explain the total effect of increasing the cognitive demands of multitasking on time preferences. We also shed light on whether the observed relationship between time preferences and time perception within subjects is mirrored when comparing between subjects. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Working paper/Preprint
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Time preferences, Multitasking, Cognitive load, Time perception, Foundations of preferences, C91, D91
in
Working Papers
issue
2019:11
pages
82 pages
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
171090d9-0c45-4fe7-9236-9d529a8ba5d1
alternative location
https://swopec.hhs.se/lunewp/abs/lunewp2019_011.htm
date added to LUP
2019-08-12 09:20:00
date last changed
2019-08-19 08:57:17
@misc{171090d9-0c45-4fe7-9236-9d529a8ba5d1,
  abstract     = {{In this paper, we study how increasing the cognitive demands of multitasking affects time preferences. The novelty of this paper is that it studied how time perception mediates the effect of multitasking on time preferences. Results from experimental psychology have demonstrated that people tend to experience the passage of time as quicker when they are busy with cognitively-demanding tasks. If time is experienced as passing faster, the future should be experienced as being closer, and patience should increase. However, a standard prediction from behavioral economics is that being cognitively loaded leads to less patient decisions. Our hypothesis is that increases in patience, driven by the speeding up of time, and decreases in patience, driven by decreased cognitive capacity, added together explain the total effect of increasing the cognitive demands of multitasking on time preferences. We also shed light on whether the observed relationship between time preferences and time perception within subjects is mirrored when comparing between subjects.}},
  author       = {{Hardardottir, Hjördis}},
  keywords     = {{Time preferences; Multitasking; Cognitive load; Time perception; Foundations of preferences; C91; D91}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Working Paper}},
  number       = {{2019:11}},
  series       = {{Working Papers}},
  title        = {{Many Balls in the Air Make Time Fly: The Effect of Multitasking on Time Perception and Time Preferences}},
  url          = {{https://swopec.hhs.se/lunewp/abs/lunewp2019_011.htm}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}