Contracted time and expanded space: The impact of circumnavigation on judgements of space and time

- Certain locations in the world can only be reached by circumnavigating obstacles.
- All travel times are underestimated and all distances are overestimated.
- Travel times are further compressed when circumnavigation is required.
- Distances are further expanded when circumnavigation is required.
- Temporal and spatial cognitive biases may be dissociable.

The ability to estimate distance and time to spatial goals is fundamental for survival. In cases where a region of space must be navigated around to reach a location (circumnavigation), the distance along the path is greater than the straight-line Euclidean distance. To explore how such circumnavigation impacts on estimates of distance and time, we tested participants on their ability to estimate travel time and Euclidean distance to learned destinations in a virtual town. Estimates for approximately linear routes were compared with estimates for routes requiring circumnavigation. For all routes, travel times were significantly underestimated, and Euclidean distances overestimated. For routes requiring circumnavigation, travel time was further underestimated and the Euclidean distance further overestimated. Thus, circumnavigation appears to enhance existing biases in representations of travel time and distance.