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When children forget to remember: Effects of reduced working memory availability on prospective memory performance
Lavinia Cheie1,2, Colin MacLeod3,4, Mircea Miclea5
1Developmental Psychology Lab, Department of Psychology, School of Psychology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. laviniacheie@psychology.ro.
Prospective memory (PM) in children is impaired when working memory (WM) resources are reduced by demanding tasks or anxiety. Findings support the PAM theory, showing available WM resources are crucial for successful prospective remembering.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Prospective memory (PM) is essential for daily functioning.
- The preparatory attentional and memory processes (PAM) theory links PM to working memory (WM) resource availability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the PAM hypothesis in school-age children.
- To examine how reduced WM resources affect PM performance.
Main Methods:
- 128 ten-year-old children performed a PM task embedded in an arithmetic task.
- WM resources were manipulated by increasing task difficulty, adding WM span tasks, and considering trait anxiety levels.
Main Results:
- Children's PM performance was compromised by increased processing demands, additional WM span requirements, and high trait anxiety.
- These factors had additive, not interactive, effects on PM.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the PAM theory regarding WM resource availability and PM.
- Children's PM success depends on the availability of WM resources, not just capacity.
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