An Integrative Framework for Monitoring in Time-Based Prospective Memory

Time-Based Prospective Memory (TB PM) is the ability to perform in the future a previously encoded intention, either at a specific time, or after a certain amount of time has passed. A central feature of a TB PM task is monitoring for the passage of time in order to timely meet a deadline. In this thesis, three studies on the external time monitoring process in TB PM are presented to address the limitations of previous studies and to provide further insight into monitoring behavior in TB PM. In the first study we proposed a new integrative framework of external time monitoring in TB PM tasks and its relation with performance. Starting from existing empirical regularities and a theoretical analysis, our framework predicts that external monitoring in TB PM tasks comprises a first stage of loose monitoring to keep track of the passage of time, and a subsequent stage of finer-grained monitoring, based on interval reduction, to meet the PM deadline In the second study we addressed two gaps in the literature on TB PM that were not investigated in the first study: the absence of evidence supporting the causal role of the exponential (J-shaped) time monitoring pattern on PM performance and the lack of investigations on the metacognitive aspects of time monitoring. In Experiment 1, we examined the causal influence of the monitoring pattern by systematically manipulating the number and distribution of available clock checks in a TB PM task. In Experiment 2, we appraised participants’ ability to plan time monitoring patterns and to estimate their performance, and we compared their actual monitoring patterns and PM performance with their anticipations and with the patterns and performance of control participants who were not probed in advance. We also asked participants to provide retrospective judgments about monitoring patterns and performance. In the third study we extended our analysis on a topic that had received little attention in TB PM research: the investigation of multiple intentions and the way in which they are presented (framed). In two experiment on TB PM, participants had to remember multiple delayed intentions framed as time rules (i.e., respond every 7 min, every 10 min) or as a series of corresponding instances (i.e., respond at times 7, 10, 14, 20, 21, 28, 30, etc.). We appraised the effects of intention framing on intention learning, intention representation, strategies used to set the upcoming intention, cognitive load (monitoring cost), and PM performance.