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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 31, 2025

Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm
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Prospective memory errors in everyday life: does instruction matter?

Maximilian Haas1,2, Sascha Zuber2,3, Matthias Kliegel1,2,3

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.

Memory (Hove, England)
|January 3, 2020
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Summary

Prospective memory (PM) errors are common in everyday life for both young and older adults. This study suggests everyday PM may not decline with age, unlike other cognitive functions.

Keywords:
Prospective memoryage-PM paradoxageingdiaryeveryday memory failures

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive psychology
  • Neuroscience of aging
  • Human memory research

Background:

  • Prospective memory (PM) errors are the most common everyday memory failures in younger adults.
  • Previous research has not examined the prevalence of PM errors in older adults or the impact of reporting instructions on error detection.
  • Understanding age-related differences in PM is crucial for cognitive aging research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prevalence of prospective memory errors in younger and older adults.
  • To examine whether different error reporting instructions influence the detection of prospective memory errors.
  • To explore age-related differences in everyday memory and cognitive errors.

Main Methods:

  • A 5-day diary study involving 128 participants (64 younger, 64 older adults).
  • Participants completed diaries under three different reporting conditions: PM errors only, all memory errors, or all cognitive errors.
  • Error descriptions were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed after coding into subcategories.

Main Results:

  • Prospective memory errors were the most frequent type of everyday error reported by both age groups, irrespective of instructions.
  • Age differences were observed in everyday PM errors, but not in retrospective memory or general cognitive errors.
  • Qualitative analysis revealed age-related differences in the types of missed intentions, aligning with existing aging theories.

Conclusions:

  • Everyday prospective memory functioning appears to be relatively preserved in older adults compared to younger adults.
  • Age-related decline may affect other cognitive functions more than prospective memory.
  • The study provides valuable insights into the nuances of everyday prospective memory across the lifespan.