One of the first studies to ask this question revealed that when the lights were 8, 16, and 32 inches apart (always flashed 8 seconds apart), the mean time estimates between the flashes was 6.5, 7.15, and 8.05 seconds, respectively.12 So the answer is yes, space (the distance between the lights) does influence our perception of time. This so-called kappa effect has been demonstrated many times and in many ways.
