Prospective memory skill

Andrzejewski, Stephen J.; Moore, Cathleen M.; Corvette, Maria; Herrmann, Douglas J. · 1991 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.3758/bf03333926

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

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Summary

This study investigates whether prospective memory—the ability to remember to perform intended actions in the future—functions as a skill that improves with experience. While prior research established that retrospective memory performance correlates with task experience, no studies had examined this relationship for prospective remembering of obligations and appointments. The authors hypothesized that the likelihood of remembering an appointment would be positively correlated with the frequency of encountering that specific type of appointment in everyday life. To test this, the researchers conducted two experiments involving 24 distinct appointment types, categorized by importance (important vs. unimportant), recurrence (unique vs. recurring), duration (brief, moderate, extended), and punctuality requirements (precise vs. interval). In Experiment 1, 45 undergraduates completed a survey rating how frequently they experienced each appointment type and estimating the percentage they forgot. In Experiment 2, 27 undergraduates maintained a diary for three weeks, recording actual occurrences and failures to meet appointments. This diary method provided a more objective measure of performance than the self-reports in Experiment 1. Both experiments yielded consistent results demonstrating a strong positive correlation between appointment frequency and memory success. In Experiment 1, the correlation between mean frequency of occurrence and the proportion of appointments remembered was substantial ($r = .78, p < .01$). Experiment 2 confirmed this finding with behavioral data; the correlation between frequency and remembering was $r = .72$ ($p < .01$) across appointment types, and the mean individual correlation was even higher ($\rho = .89, p < .01$). Important appointments were both more frequent and more likely to be remembered than unimportant ones. Furthermore, the diary data from Experiment 2 correlated significantly with the self-report data from Experiment 1, validating the subjective estimates. The authors also reviewed existing literature, citing four additional studies that supported the hypothesis that prospective memory performance covaries with task practice. The findings indicate that prospective memory possesses a skill component, where performance improves with repeated exposure to specific task types. The authors conclude that experience with a particular prospective memory task either prepares individuals to perform it better in the future or influences them to seek out tasks they perform successfully. This research extends the understanding of memory skills from retrospective to prospective domains, suggesting that everyday memory performance is not static but develops through habitual engagement with specific types of obligations.

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• prospective memory interruptions