When “Year” Feels Near: How Year Versus Length Framing Alters Time Perception and Consumer Decisions

Deepak Sirwani, Tatiana Sokolova, Suzanne Shu

Journal of Marketing Research · 2026 · Volume 63 · Issue 3

Abstract

Time intervals can be framed either by a calendar year (e.g., “2015”) or by length (e.g., “ten years”), yet these ostensibly equivalent formats lead to systematically different judgments. Combining data from whiskey auctions with seven controlled experiments, the authors demonstrate that length framing elongates time perception compared with year framing, which they refer to as the year–length effect. As a result of changes in time perception, length framing increases the importance of time-related attributes in choice, leading to more favorable product evaluations in contexts where age enhances product value (e.g., whiskey evaluation) and to more negative evaluations in contexts where age reduces it (e.g., used goods). Process evidence implicates the logarithmic mental number line: Years with large nominal values occupy a compressed region of the line, relative to small length numerals. These findings offer practical guidance on how time framing can be used to shape time perception and customer value.

Keywords

time perception, numerical cognition, magnitude judgment, framing bias, valuation

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