The conscious awareness of time distortions regulates the effect of emotion on the perception of time

•This study examines how declarative knowledge modulates emotional effects on time perception.•Declarative knowledge down-regulates emotional effects on time perception.•Declarative knowledge is not in itself able to generate an effect on time perception. This study examined how the awareness of emotion-related time distortions modifies the effect of emotion on time perception. Before performing a temporal bisection task with stimulus durations presented in the form of neutral or emotional facial expressions (angry, disgusted and ashamed faces), some of the participants read a scientific text providing either correct or incorrect information on the emotion–time relationship. Other participants did not receive any information. The results showed that the declarative knowledge allowed the participants to regulate (decrease) the intensity of emotional effects on the perception of time, but did not trigger temporal effects when the emotional stimuli did not automatically induce emotional reactions that distorted time.