DOI: 10.5176/2251-1865_CBP13.49
Authors: Pauline D’Rozario, Lynne M. Harris
Abstract:
The increased use and availability of Smartphones with reminder functionality has increased the extent to which people rely on electronic prospective memory (PM) aids. While there is an abundance of research on the benefits of external PM aid use among those with PM problems (e.g. [1], [2], [3]) there is little work investigating the impact of the use of external PM aids on PM performance among healthy young adults (however see [4]). This study examined the relationship between PM aids and PM performance in both an experimental and a naturalistic PM task among healthy young students (N = 84; aged 17-26 years). Use of PM aids was assessed using a questionnaire designed for this study in Phase 1, where participants completed a computer-based PM task based on that of Harris and Cumming (2003) [5]. In Phase 2, use of PM aids was manipulated directly during the performance of a naturalistic PM task based on Jeong and Cranney (2009) [6]. It was expected that habitual reliance on external PM aids would be associated with poorer performance on the experimental PM task where participants were unable to use PM aids. Contrary to expectations, the findings of Phase 1 showed that neither self-reported reliance on external PM aids or use of external PM aids was associated with experimental PM task performance. It was also expected that participants assigned to use PM aids in Phase 2 would perform better on the naturalistic PM task and report fewer occasions of spontaneous PM intention retrieval compared to participants assigned to a condition where PM aids were not available. As expected, those in the PM aid conditions performed better on the PM task than those in the no cue condition. Self-initiated spontaneous retrievals of the PM intention were also significantly lower for participants who were assigned to the electronic (passive) PM aid condition compared with participants in the diary (active) PM aid condition and the no cue condition. The findings are consistent with the view that passive PM aids invoke less internal self-monitoring and greater reliance on the external cue. In the total sample, frequency of retrieval of the PM intention was significantly correlated with PM performance. The findings were considered in terms of implications for understanding PM performance in young adults with no PM problems.
Keywords: prospective memory; retrospective memory; reliance; PM aids
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