Self Referencing and Self Projecting

[Concepts in Sensorimotor Research]

Within the context of multisensory integration, self-referencing and self-projecting skills play important roles in our perception of time. 

• Self-Referencing:  general capacity of using one's own position in time to estimate/situate events in time. This skill relies on internal cues such as memory and self-awareness to place events within a temporal framework. By referencing our own experiences and the temporal context in which they occurred, we can make sense of the timing and sequence of events in our environment.
• Self-Projecting: ability to mentally move back and forward in time, maintaining the competence of correctly situating events in time. This skill allows us to anticipate future events, plan our actions, and make decisions based on the temporal context. Self-projecting skill involves mental time travel, where we can mentally simulate and project ourselves into different points in time, drawing upon past experiences and knowledge to predict and shape future events.

Both self-referencing and self-projecting skills are closely intertwined with our sensory experiences. Our senses provide us with temporal information through various cues. For example, visual stimuli provide temporal cues through motion and changes in spatial patterns, while auditory stimuli provide temporal cues through changes in pitch, intensity, and rhythm. By integrating these sensory cues with our self-referencing and self-projecting abilities, we can accurately perceive and situate events in time.