Visual Statistical Learning Based on Time Information

People can extract and learn statistical regularities from various aspects of everyday life. The current study examined whether people have a mechanism to learn regularity based on time information and investigated whether sensitivity to time information is modulated by individual time management. In the familiarization phase, participants were required to observe a visual sequence of objects. Although the objects were presented in a random order, the amount of time for which the objects were presented was organized into successive triplets (e.g., 850-1,000-700 ms). In the subsequent test phase, two three-object sequences were presented. One sequence was a timing triplet that had temporal regularities. The other was a foil created from three different triplets. Participants were required to judge which sequence was more familiar based on the familiarization phase. The results showed that the triplets were successfully discriminated from the foils. These results were also observed for blank intervals. The current findings also revealed that although visual statistical learning was expressed when participants observed the temporal regularities of shapes tied to the corresponding durations during familiarization, this learning overshadowed them from indicating generic timing regularities when they were untied to objects. Furthermore, participants with high scores on the Time Management Scale showed a higher extent of visual statistical learning on object durations than those with low scores. These results suggest that people extract and learn regularities based on time information and that statistical learning based on time information is correlated with individual time management.