temporal compression

   The term temporal compression comes from the Latin words tempus (time), and comprimere (to compress, to press together). It was introduced in or shortly before 1999 by the American sociologist Michael G. Flaherty to denote a mnestic phenomenon uniquely associated with one's experience of the past, in which temporal intervals (i.e. hours, days, months, years) seem to have passed quickly. The notion of temporal compression is used in opposition to the notions of * protracted duration (characterized by the subjective feeling that time is passing slowly), and synchronicity (i.e. the normal experience of lived duration). It should not be confused with the * quick-motion phenomenon, which refers to a * time distortion associated with the present moment which is characterized by the sensation that psychological time has significantly speeded up, and that people and objects are rushing past at an extraordinary speed.

   References

   Flaherty, M.G., Meer, M.D. (1994). How time flies: Age, memory, and temporal compression. Sociological Quarterly, 35, 705-721. Flaherty, M.G. (1999). A watched pot: How we experience time. New York, NY: New York University Press.