The present study investigated age differences in the ability to predict prospective memory (PM) performance. A sample of younger (N = 88) and older (N = 88) participants completed an event-based PM task embedded in an ongoing task. Metamemory was measured by asking participants to predict their performance before completing the PM task and complete some questionnaires on self-perceptions of everyday memory ability. We manipulated A) the reference point used to evaluate performance and B) the order of presentation of the instruments. One group of participants predicted their upcoming performance with a general confidence rating (performance condition) whereas a different group predicted their performance in comparison to other people of their age (peers condition). The metamemory questionnaires were completed either at the beginning of the experimental session or after the PM task, in a counterbalanced order. In terms of performance, we did not observe age differences in PM. In terms of metamemory, younger and older participants were similarly underconfident in the performance condition and overconfident in the peers condition. Moreover, older adults reported significantly better PM abilities than younger adults, and participants generally reported more memory failures when the metamemory questionnaires were administered after the PM task and in the performance condition. These findings show that both younger and older adults have limited metacognitive insights, and point to reactive effects of metamemory to metacognitive reference point and order of administration of the instruments.
Prospective Memory Complaints Can Be Predicted by Prospective Memory Performance in Older Adults
