Speaker 1: Peter Graf
Saturday December 18, 09:45 - 10:45
Pro- and Retro-spective Memory in Adulthood
Peter Graf
(Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Canada)
Prospective memory proper (ProM) is the ability to recognize cues as telltale signs (of previously formed plans or intentions) when they occur as part of ongoing thoughts, actions or situations. This chapter examines the claim that ProM is more resource demanding than retrospective memory (RetM), and therefore, that in old age, ProM declines more rapidly. A recent meta analysis shows enormous variability across methods used for assessing ProM, with age-related declines occurring only with some tasks. A task analysis illuminates these findings, and serves to classify ProM tasks into clusters familiar from RetM research. We report results obtained with a new method for assessing the ProM equivalent of episodic long-term memory. We also show how this aspect of ProM declines in old age, in parallel with declines in RetM and in various aspects of processing speed.