scholarly journals Individual Differences in Prospective Memory Offloading in Laboratory and Naturalistic Settings

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hunter Ball ◽  
Philip Peper ◽  
Durna Alakbarova ◽  
Sam Gilbert ◽  
Gene Arnold Brewer
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Prospective Memory ◽  
High Ability ◽  
Memory Ability ◽  
Multiple Measures ◽  
Good Working

The current study examined whether offloading prospective memory (PM) demands onto the environment through the use of reminders eliminates PM differences typically seen between individuals that have poor or good working memory ability. Over two laboratory sessions scheduled one week apart, participants completed three versions of a PM offloading task with and without the use of reminders, along with multiple measures of working memory. Participants also generated a list of naturalistic intentions to fulfill between sessions and were given an intention to email the experimenter every day. They later indicated which intentions were completed with and without the use of reminders. Consistent with prior research, high working memory participants did better in both laboratory and naturalistic settings when having to rely on their own memory. Critically, however, working memory ability was no longer predictive of performance with the use of reminders. Participants with lower working memory also offloaded more often that high ability participants, but this was not optimally calibrated to actual PM performance. These findings suggest that offloading may be particularly beneficial for those with poor cognitive ability. The theoretical and applied ramifications of these findings are discussed.

scholarly journals Genetics of Cognition: Outline of a Collaborative Twin Study

Twin Research ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margie Wright ◽  
Eco De Geus ◽  
Juko Ando ◽  
Michelle Luciano ◽  
Danielle Posthuma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Twin Study ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Inspection Time ◽  
Phenotypic Correlation ◽  
Spatial Span

AbstractAmultidisciplinary collaborative study examining cognition in a large sample of twins is outlined. A common experimental protocol and design is used in The Netherlands, Australia and Japan to measure cognitive ability using traditional IQ measures (i.e., psychometric IQ), processing speed (e.g., reaction time [RT] and inspection time [IT]), and working memory (e.g., spatial span, delayed response [DR] performance). The main aim is to investigate the genetic covariation among these cognitive phenotypes in order to use the correlated biological markers in future linkage and association analyses to detect quantitativetrait loci (QTLs). We outline the study and methodology, and report results from our preliminary analyses that examines the heritability of processing speed and working memory indices, and their phenotypic correlation with IQ. Heritability of Full Scale IQ was 87% in the Netherlands, 83% in Australia, and 71% in Japan. Heritability estimates for processing speed and working memory indices ranged from 33–64%. Associations of IQ with RT and IT (−0.28 to −0.36) replicated previous findings with those of higher cognitive ability showing faster speed of processing. Similarly, significant correlations were indicated between IQ and the spatial span working memory task (storage [0.31], executive processing [0.37]) and the DR working memory task (0.25), with those of higher cognitive ability showing better memory performance. These analyses establish the heritability of the processing speed and working memory measures to be used in our collaborative twin study of cognition, and support the findings that individual differences in processing speed and working memory may underlie individual differences in psychometric IQ.

scholarly journals Age and individual differences in prospective memory during a "Virtual Week": The roles of working memory, vigilance, task regularity, and cue focality.

2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 595-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan S. Rose ◽  
Peter G. Rendell ◽  
Mark A. McDaniel ◽  
Ingo Aberle ◽  
Matthias Kliegel
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Prospective Memory ◽  
Vigilance Task ◽  
Cue Focality

scholarly journals Is baseline pupil size related to cognitive ability? Yes (under proper lighting conditions).

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason S. Tsukahara ◽  
Randall W Engle
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Pupil Size ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Lighting Conditions

We found that individual differences in baseline pupil size correlated with fluid intelligence and working memory capacity. Larger pupil size was associated with higher cognitive ability. However, other researchers have not been able to replicate our 2016 finding – though they only measured working memory capacity and not fluid intelligence. In a reanalysis of Tsukahara et al. (2016) we show that reduced variability on baseline pupil size will result in a higher probability of obtaining smaller and non-significant correlations with working memory capacity. In two large-scale studies, we demonstrated that reduced variability in baseline pupil size values was due to the monitor being too bright. Additionally, fluid intelligence and working memory capacity did correlate with baseline pupil size except in the brightest lighting conditions. Overall, our findings demonstrated that the baseline pupil size – working memory capacity relationship was not as strong or robust as that with fluid intelligence. Our findings have strong methodological implications for researchers investigating individual differences in task-free or task-evoked pupil size. We conclude that fluid intelligence does correlate with baseline pupil size and that this is related to the functional organization of the resting-state brain through the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system.

scholarly journals Individual Differences in Memory and Attention Processes in Prospective Remembering

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hunter Ball ◽  
Elizabeth A. Wiemers ◽  
Gene Brewer
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Prospective Memory ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Attention And Memory ◽  
Retrospective Memory ◽  
Prospective Remembering

Successful prospective memory (PM) involves not only detecting that an environmental cue requires action (i.e., prospective component), but also retrieval of what is supposed to be done at the appropriate moment (i.e., retrospective component). The current study examined the role of attention and memory during PM tasks that placed distinct demands on detection and retrieval processes. Using a large-scale individual differences design, participants completed three PM tasks that placed high demands on detection (but low demands on retrieval) and three tasks that placed high demands on retrieval (but low demands on detection). Additionally, participants completed three attention control, retrospective memory, and working memory tasks. Latent variable structural equation modeling showed that the prospective and retrospective components of PM were jointly influenced by multiple cognitive abilities. Critically, attention and retrospective memory fully mediated the relation between working memory and prospective memory. Furthermore, only attention uniquely predicted PM detection, whereas only retrospective memory uniquely predicted PM retrieval. These findings highlight the value of independently assessing different PM components and suggest that both attention and memory abilities must be considered to fully understand the dynamic processes underlying prospective remembering.

scholarly journals Prospective Memory, Personality, and Working Memory

2011 ◽  
Vol 219 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebekah E. Smith ◽  
Deborah Persyn ◽  
Patrick Butler
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Prospective Memory ◽  
Performance Modeling ◽  
Multinomial Model ◽  
Personality Dimension ◽  
The Future ◽  
P Parameter ◽  
Event Based

Prospective memory (PM) involves remembering to perform an action in the future. The current study applies a multinomial model to investigate the contribution of individual differences in personality, as well as individual differences in working memory (WM) span, to performance in an event-based PM task. The model includes a parameter P that measures the prospective component, or remembering that something is to be done. The model also includes a parameter M that measures the ability to discriminate between target and non-target events, part of the retrospective component of PM tasks. The model has been applied to investigate the effects of WM variability in just one prior study, but has not been used in previous investigations of personality and PM. WM span and the personality dimension of conscientiousness showed differences between the higher and lower groups in PM performance. Modeling results showed that individuals higher in conscientiousness had higher estimate of M relative to individuals lower on the conscientiousness dimension. Conscientiousness did not affect the P parameter. In contrast, individuals with higher WM span scores had higher estimates of P relative to individuals with lower span scores, but the two WM groups did not differ in terms of parameter M.

scholarly journals Individual Differences in Memory and Attention Processes in Prospective Remembering

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hunter Ball ◽  
Elizabeth A. Wiemers ◽  
Gene Arnold Brewer
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Prospective Memory ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Attention And Memory ◽  
Retrospective Memory ◽  
Prospective Remembering

Successful prospective memory (PM) involves not only detecting that an environmental cue requires action (i.e., prospective component), but also retrieval of what is supposed to be done at the appropriate moment (i.e., retrospective component). The current study examined the role of attention and memory during PM tasks that placed distinct demands on detection and retrieval processes. Using a large-scale individual differences design, participants completed three PM tasks that placed high demands on detection (but low demands on retrieval) and three tasks that placed high demands on retrieval (but low demands on detection). Additionally, participants completed three attention control, retrospective memory, and working memory tasks. Latent variable structural equation modeling showed that the prospective and retrospective components of PM were jointly influenced by multiple cognitive abilities. Critically, attention and retrospective memory fully mediated the relation between working memory and prospective memory. Furthermore, only attention uniquely predicted PM detection, whereas only retrospective memory uniquely predicted PM retrieval. These findings highlight the value of independently assessing different PM components and suggest that both attention and memory abilities must be considered to fully understand the dynamic processes underlying prospective remembering.

scholarly journals Immersive virtual reality gameplay captures age differences in naturalistic prospective memory

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Saito ◽  
Nathan Rose
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Prospective Memory ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Real World ◽  
Ecological Validity ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Phone Calls

Age differences in prospective memory (PM)—memory for delayed intentions—have shown paradoxical patterns between laboratory and naturalistic settings. Virtual reality (VR) has been used to try and enhance the ecological validity of PM assessments, but methodological differences and limited validation have undermined interpretation of previous findings. We compared age differences between VR- and naturalistic-based measures of PM performance for younger (18-30 years) and older (56-83 years) adults (N = 111) to explore the role of task context and familiarity. Participants completed PM tasks embedded in the Job Simulator VR videogame and a Breakfast task that involved setting a table and simulating breakfast food preparation. We also included two real-world measures in which participants tried to remember to exchange personal belongings with the experimenter (Belongings task) and return phone calls at specific times outside the lab (Call-back task). We found comparable age deficits in Job Simulator and the Breakfast task. However, the age-PM paradox persisted in the Belongings and Call-back tasks. Hierarchical regression modeling was conducted to determine the roles of working memory, vigilance, and personality traits in each. Regression analyses revealed that significant variance in lab-based PM performance was accounted for by individual differences in working memory and agreeableness in older adults, while variance in naturalistic PM performance was accounted for by vigilance and neuroticism in young adults. This study suggests that immersive VR gameplay helped to provide ecologically valid PM assessment and advance a theoretical account of the age-PM paradox with a systematic, task-based analysis of age and individual differences in PM. Different mediators predicted young and older adults’ PM differently across real-world and in-lab contexts (despite measuring similar, naturalistic PM in the same individuals in both VR and in real life). There are methodological, cognitive, & personality moderators, but the “paradox” appears to be a real developmental phenomenon.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document