Prospective memory also known as remembering to
remember is the process of remembering to carry
out future actions. The present study
investigated age-related differences in the
performance of two complex prospective memory
tasks for 30 younger adults (M = 19.43, SD =
2.10) and 30 older adults (M = 66.87, SD =
3.25). The two tasks had the same constraints,
but were framed within different contexts (i.e.,
taking medications or scheduling
groups). Participants performed the tasks within
a simulated week based on activities they perform
as part of their weekly routine, and they were
given 30 minutes to develop plans to help them
remember the tasks. Older adults were as
accurate as younger adults in developing their
plans for both tasks, but made significantly more
errors in carrying out the prospective
tasks. Planning style was not directly
predictive of performance for the group
task. However, age-related differences in
performance for the medication task were related
to planning style such that age-related declines
in performance were observed for older adults who
used a planning style that did not provide
adequate memory support (i.e., list layout with
time cues). Moreover, participants of all ages
with lower levels of planning experience were
more likely to select this ineffective planning
style. These findings provide evidence that
age-related differences in prospective memory can
be ameliorated through the use of a familiar task
and the opportunity to develop plans to remember
the task. However, if participants develop an
ineffective plan they will show performance decrements.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:GATECH/oai:smartech.gatech.edu:1853/11560 |
| Date | 07 July 2006 |
| Creators | Stronge, Aideen Joyce |
| Publisher | Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Source Sets | Georgia Tech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Archive |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | 604730 bytes, application/pdf |
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