<p>Why does it seem that people feel more pressure with a clock counting down as opposed to counting up? Is there a specific term for this? Maybe counting down signifies some sort of loss whereas counting up signifies some sort of gain?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-07T13:23:20.157Z
Is it really the case that counting down creates more pressure? Is there any evidence?
Jens Kouros
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-16T04:13:51.110Z
I would assume this is logical, because a clock counting down means a deadline. When it runs out, time's up. A clock counting up does not imply this necessarily.
Josh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-19T18:38:15.673Z
My guess is the following: It's much easier to get a grasp of how many time is left on the clock that runs down. You have less calculations to do to know if you're gonna make it in time. And as Josh says, there is the idea of 'losing' a resource when it runs down as opposed to accumulating it.
icosamuel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-26T15:24:24.047Z
And it might be linked to the way we describe the "half-full" or "half-empty" water glass. Take a look at [this TED talk](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XFLTDQ4JMk).
icosamuel
<motivation><time><stress>
Why does a clock counting down generate more pressure than a clock counting up?
goog
# Why does a clock counting down generate more pressure than a clock counting up?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-08-05)

Why does it seem that people feel more pressure with a clock counting down as opposed to counting up? Is there a specific term for this? Maybe counting down signifies some sort of loss whereas counting up signifies some sort of gain?

**Tags:** motivation, time, stress

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Is it really the case that counting down creates more pressure? Is there any evidence?  
> **username_2**: I would assume this is logical, because a clock counting down means a deadline. When it runs out, time's up. A clock counting up does not imply this necessarily.  
> **username_3**: My guess is the following: It's much easier to get a grasp of how many time is left on the clock that runs down. You have less calculations to do to know if you're gonna make it in time. And as username_2 says, there is the idea of 'losing' a resource when it runs down as opposed to accumulating it.  
> **username_3**: And it might be linked to the way we describe the "half-full" or "half-empty" water glass. Take a look at [this TED talk](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XFLTDQ4JMk).  

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## 0 answers

