COGNITIVE RESOURCES THAT HELP US TICK: RECRUITMENT OF THREE OFTEN POSTULATED CORE EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS IN HUMAN PROSPECTIVE TIMING

Time is ubiquitous to our everyday life. Therefore, the current research was conducted with the aim to further elucidate the nascent topic of executive resources recruitment in human prospective timing. For this purpose, a specific within-subject experimental procedure was conducted. Participants (N = 43) completed a timing task (reproduction of intervals) and tasks tapping three core executive functions (working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility), under single and dual-task conditions. Statistical analysis of the interference effect revealed disruption of timing similarly under all three core executive loads. This was reflected in under-reproductions of intervals in comparison to control conditions. Furthermore, an analysis revealed a significant effect of duration, thus, timing impairment was observed in longer durations, not in the shortest one. For an interpretation of the results, an executive-gate model (modification of an attentional-gate model) was used. The results and limitations are further discussed.