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An internet study of prospective memory across adulthood

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Logie, Robert H. and Maylor, Elizabeth A.. (2009) An internet study of prospective memory across adulthood. Psychology and Aging, Vol.24 (No.3). pp. 767-774. ISSN 0882-7974

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0015479

Abstract

In an Internet study, 73,018 18-79-year-olds were asked to “remember to click the smiley face when it appears”. A smiley face was present/absent at encoding, and participants were told to expect it “at the end of the test”/“later in the test.” In all 4 conditions, it occurred after 20 min of retrospective memory tests. Prospective remembering benefited at all ages from both prior target exposure and temporal uncertainty; moreover, it resembled working memory in its linear decline from young adulthood. The study demonstrates the power of Internet methodology to reveal age-related deficits in a single-trial prospective memory task outside the laboratory.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions:	Faculty of Science > Psychology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Prospective memory, Memory -- Age factors, Internet in experimental psychology, Psychological apparatus, Ability, Influence of age on
Journal or Publication Title:	Psychology and Aging
Publisher:	American Psychological Association
ISSN:	0882-7974
Date:	September 2009
Volume:	Vol.24
Number:	No.3
Page Range:	pp. 767-774
Identification Number:	10.1037/a0015479
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
Conference Paper Type:	Paper
Title of Event:	29th International Congress of Psychology
Type of Event:	Conference
Location of Event:	Berlin, Germany
Date(s) of Event:	Jul, 2008
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URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/705