Redefining the pattern of age-prospective memory-paradox: new insights on age effects in lab-based, naturalistic, and self-assigned tasks

Schnitzspahn, Katharina M.; Kvavilashvili, Lia; Altgassen, Mareike · 2018 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1007/s00426-018-1140-2

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Summary

This study investigates the "age–PM-paradox," a phenomenon where older adults typically show deficits in prospective memory (PM) in laboratory settings but demonstrate superior performance in naturalistic, real-life contexts. The authors aim to redefine this paradox by examining whether age effects vary based on the type of PM cue (time-based vs. event-based) and the setting (laboratory, experimenter-assigned naturalistic, or self-assigned real-life tasks). Previous research often conflated these variables, leading to inconsistent findings regarding whether older adults truly benefit in everyday PM tasks or if such benefits are limited to specific task types. The researchers employed a within-subjects design with 53 participants (31 young adults and 22 older adults). Participants completed PM tasks across three settings: laboratory-based tasks (event-based pencil/token tasks and time-based stop-clock task), experimenter-assigned naturalistic tasks (sending text messages or postcards based on time or event cues), and self-assigned real-life tasks (participants’ own intentions over a six-day period). The study specifically manipulated cue type and task repetition, using single-occasion time-based tasks to test if previous age benefits were driven by repetitive task structures. Data were analyzed using ANOVAs to compare performance across age groups and task conditions. The results revealed that the traditional age–PM-paradox is qualified by cue type. Older adults exhibited significant deficits in laboratory event-based tasks. However, no age effect was observed for naturalistic event-based tasks, indicating parity between age groups. Crucially, age benefits in naturalistic settings were found only for experimenter-assigned time-based tasks, not for participants’ own self-assigned time-based tasks. This suggests that the previously reported age advantages in naturalistic PM may have been overestimated due to the prevalent use of experimenter-generated, repetitive time-based tasks in prior studies. The authors conclude that the age–PM-paradox should be redefined: rather than showing positive age effects outside the laboratory, older adults primarily exhibit an absence of negative age effects in naturalistic and self-assigned tasks, while still suffering deficits in laboratory event-based tasks. These findings challenge the notion that PM is a cognitive ability spared by aging in everyday life. Instead, they suggest that older adults do not inherently outperform younger adults in real-life PM but rather perform comparably when external cues and environmental support are present, whereas laboratory conditions expose their strategic monitoring deficits.

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• prospective memory interruptions