Acting with the future in mind: Testing competing prospective memory interventions
Henry,Julie D. Hering,Alexandra Haines,Simon Grainger,Sarah A. Koleits,Nick Mclennan,Skye Pelly,Rachel Doyle,Colleen Rose,Nathan S. Kliegel,Matthias
Henry,Julie D.
Hering,Alexandra
Haines,Simon
Grainger,Sarah A.
Koleits,Nick
Mclennan,Skye
Pelly,Rachel
Doyle,Colleen
Rose,Nathan S.
Kliegel,Matthias
Abstract
Prospective memory (PM) is a critical determinant of whether a person is able to lead an independent life. Because PM declines in late adulthood, an important question is therefore whether, and if so, which types, of PM interventions might lead to meaningful benefits. In the present study, we randomly assigned older adults to one of four conditions, in three of which participants received a structured PM intervention (Restorative, Compensatory, and Combined Restorative and Compensatory); the fourth was an Active Control condition. The results showed that there were significant gains on the PM training task used for both the Restorative and Combined conditions. We then analyzed change in PM tasks that were independent of the PM training task (Near Transfer). Only the Combined condition led to post-training improvement. Finally, we analyzed performance on measures of untrained cognitive abilities and everyday functioning: Far transfer effects were not evident for any intervention. These data align with prior literature in showing that interventions that target a single cognitive ability do not reliably generate far transfer effects, and additionally extend our understanding of these effects in two important ways. Firstly, they indicate that, even when the memory challenges that older adults are most concerned about are the direct target of restorative training, transfer effects to untrained cognitive domains may be difficult to achieve. Secondly, they indicate that for older adults whose primary goal is to enhance PM function, combining Restorative and Compensatory approaches is an effective approach.
Description
Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Research Projects
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Journal Issue
Keywords
AGE, IMPLEMENTATION INTENTIONS, OLDER-ADULTS, PERFORMANCE, VIRTUAL WEEK, cognitive intervention, compensatory, prospective memory, restorative, transfer effects
Citation
Henry, J D, Hering, A, Haines, S, Grainger, S A, Koleits, N, Mclennan, S, Pelly, R, Doyle, C, Rose, N S, Kliegel, M & Rendell, P G 2021, 'Acting with the future in mind : Testing competing prospective memory interventions', Psychology and Aging, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 491-503. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000593