Fig. 1.

Experimental Design. Trial events in the temporal reproduction and the control reaction time task: To discourage subjects from counting (which they were instructed not to), in both the timing and the control task, a secondary memory task had to be performed. In the timing task, subjects first saw for three seconds four numbers on the screen. Then, a continuous 1.2 Hz tone was presented for one of three durations (3-, 9-, 18-s). After the tone had stopped subjects had to press a button as fast as possible. After a short pause a continuous 2 Hz tone was presented that had to be stopped by pressing a button when the subjects thought that it has lasted as long as the first stimulus. Then one single number appeared on the screen and subjects had to decide by pressing one of two buttons whether it was one of the four numbers seen at the beginning of the trial. The control reaction time task was characterized by subjects reacting as fast as possible with a button press when a 1.2 Hz tone stopped.