The Time-Order Error and Its Relatives: Mirrors of Cognitive Processes in Comparing.

A number of studies on the time-order error (TOE) and related perceptual and judgmental phenomena are reviewed. It is concluded that the TOE should be classified as a perceptual phenomenon that can be understood and predicted with adaptation-level theory and the notion of sensation weighting. It is also concluded that sensation weighting underlies assimilation and contrast phenomena and that it is a manifestation of a general cognitive principle: the utilization of generic information to supplement specific stimulus information.