The Perception of the Passage of Time Among Death-Involved Hospital Patients

Subjects (15 male hospitalized suicidal, 15 male terminal, 15 geriatrically ill, & normal patients) perception of time passage was evaluated by (a) behavioral estimations of elapsed time & (b) a survey of their opinions concerning the passage of time, including an evaluation of various consequences of the rate of time passage. Suicidal subjects, closely followed by the geriatrically ill, overestimated time intervals to a much greater extent than did the normal & terminal subjects. (16 ref.)