Time-Duration Asymmetries in Consumer Decision-Making

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ID: 328790
2026
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Abstract
Abstract Consumers routinely make decisions about short time periods, such as waiting for a table or deciding whether to pay for faster delivery. Such periods are often expressed by either a duration or a clock time (e.g., if it is 6:00 PM now, “Your table will be ready in 30 minutes” vs. “Your table will be ready at 6:30 PM”). Eight experiments (N = 16,604) show that these logically equivalent frames change how long a period feels, with downstream consequences for consumer decisions. Relatively short time periods feel longer when framed by duration rather than by start and end time (i.e., clock times or calendar dates), but this pattern reverses as periods get longer. We refer to this phenomenon as time-duration asymmetry: framing an interval by its start and end time versus its duration changes how long it feels, with the direction of the effect depending on the interval’s length. We propose that this occurs because duration frames evoke compressive scalar representations shaped by diminishing sensitivity, whereas start-end frames situate time within structured categorical systems that attenuate compression. This research offers a unified framework for understanding how subtle differences in temporal framing shape perceptions of time and subsequent decisions.
Reference Key
openalex_W7213274443 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Jiabi Wang, Kristin Donnelly
Journal journal of consumer research
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/jcr/ucag039
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucag039
Keywords Keywords not found

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