Physical load affects duration judgments: A meta-analytic review

• Effects of physical workload on duration judgments were reviewed.
• All experiments in the statistical analyses used the prospective paradigm and the method of production.
• Increasing physical workload resulted in longer duration productions.
• Effects of physical workload demands are comparable to those of cognitive workload demands.
• Important implications for future research and application are detailed.

This article reports a meta-analytic review of seven extant experiments, with 235 participants, concerning effects of physical workload on duration judgments. It also provides a qualitative assessment of related studies that, for specific reasons, were not includable in the quantitative meta-analysis. All analyzed experiments used the prospective duration-judgment paradigm and the production method, in which participants knew in advance that duration estimation was required. A large overall effect size reveals that increasing physical workload results in longer prospective duration productions. Physical workload effects are comparable to those of cognitive load. Implications for applied research, theory, and applications are discussed.