Timing Behavior in Young Children: A Developmental Approach to Conditioned Spaced Responding

The early development of timing and the estimation of temporal duration have been under-researched for theoretical reasons and perhaps to a greater extent for methodological ones. One might be led to think that humans cannot perceive and estimate duration until they master general concepts of time and measurement. Results of numerous studies (Fraisse, 1948; Fraisse & Orsini, 1958; Goldstone & Goldfarb, 1966) seem to be consistent with this assumption: they demonstrate that 6 to 8 years of age is a transition period in several respects. When asked to reproduce or estimate intervals, 8-year olds respond accurately while younger children perform erratically. This dramatic change in the capacity of 6- to 8- year olds to estimate duration correctly suggests that this development may be connected to the acquisition of logical and conventional time.

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