Attention fluctuates between optimal and suboptimal states. However, whether these fluctuations affect how we learn visual regularities remains untested. Using web-based real-time triggering, we investigated the impact of sustained attentional state on statistical learning using online and offline measures of learning. In three experiments (N = 450), participants performed a continuous performance task (CPT) with shape stimuli. Unbeknownst to participants, we measured response times (RTs) preceding each trial in real time and inserted distinct shape triplets in the trial stream when RTs indicated that a participant was attentive or inattentive. We measured online statistical learning using changes in RTs to regular triplets relative to random triplets encountered in the same attentional states. We measured offline statistical learning with a target detection task in which participants responded to target shapes selected from the regular triplets and with tasks in which participants explicitly re-created the regular triplets or selected regular shapes from foils. Online learning evidence was greater in high vs. low attentional states when combining data from all three experiments, although this was not evident in any experiment alone. On the other hand, we saw no evidence of impacts of attention fluctuations on measures of statistical learning collected offline, after initial exposure in the CPT. These results suggest that attention fluctuations may impact statistical learning while regularities are being extracted online, but that these effects do not persist to subsequent tests of learning about regularities.

注意力在最佳状态和次优状态之间波动。然而，这些波动是否会影响我们学习视觉规律的方式仍有待测试。使用基于网络的实时触发，我们使用在线和离线学习测量来研究持续注意力状态对统计学习的影响。在三个实验 ( N = 450) 中，参与者通过形状刺激执行连续表现任务 (CPT)。在参与者不知情的情况下，我们实时测量了每次试验之前的响应时间 (RT)，并在 RT 表明参与者注意力集中或注意力不集中时，在试验流中插入不同形状的三元组。我们使用常规三元组相对于相同注意力状态下遇到的随机三元组的 RT 变化来测量在线统计学习。我们通过目标检测任务来测量离线统计学习，其中参与者对从规则三元组中选择的目标形状做出反应，并使用参与者明确地重新创建规则三元组或从箔中选择规则形状的任务。当结合所有三个实验的数据时，在线学习的证据在高注意力状态与低注意力状态下更为明显，尽管这在单独的任何实验中并不明显。另一方面，在 CPT 初次暴露后，我们没有看到任何证据表明注意力波动对线下收集的统计学习指标有影响。这些结果表明，在在线提取规律性的同时，注意力波动可能会影响统计学习，但这些影响不会持续到随后的规律性学习测试中。