Spatial distances affect temporal prediction and interception

The more distant two consecutive stimuli are presented, the longer the temporal interstimulus interval (ISI) between their presentations is perceived (kappa effect). The present study aimed at testing whether the kappa effect not only affects perceptual estimates of time, but also motor action, more specifically, interception. In a first step, the original kappa paradigm was adapted to assess the effect in temporal prediction. Second, the task was further modified to an interception task, requiring participants to spatially and temporally predict and act. In two online experiments, a white circle was successively presented at three locations moving from left to right with constant spatial and temporal ISIs in between. Participants were asked to either (i) indicate the time of appearance of the predicted fourth stimulus (Exp. 1) or to (ii) intercept the predicted fourth location at the correct time (Exp. 2). In both experiments the temporal response depended on the spatial intervals. In line with the kappa effect, participants predicted the final stimulus to appear later (Exp. 1) or intercepted it later (Exp. 2), the more distant the stimuli were presented. Together, these results suggest that perceptual biases such as the kappa effect impact motor interception performance.