Abstract
The practice effect on prospective memory refers to the phenomenon that prospective memory performance can improve with behavior training. Some studies have found that event-based prospective memory (EBPM) can benefit from practice. However, only a few studies have focused on the practice effect on time-based prospective memory (TBPM). In the present study, we planned to explore whether the practice effect on TBPM existed and what its processing mechanism was. In Experiment 1, we tested whether the practice effect existed at all under different background task conditions. The results showed that the practice effect existed only under an easy ongoing task condition. When a 600 ms delay was added after each difficult ongoing task in Experiment 2, we found the same effect as for the easy ongoing task condition in Experiment 1. In addition, the results also suggested that the practice effect was closely related to the improvement in the effectiveness of time monitoring. The present study confirmed the existence of practice effect of TBPM under some conditions of sufficient attention resources and further explored its causes for the first time, which made us have a deeper understanding of the plasticity of TBPM caused by behavior training.
Highlights
Prospective memory refers to the ability to remember to carry out an intended action at the appropriate time or during an appropriate situation in the future (Einstein and McDaniel, 1990)
Participants who forgot the prospective memory task and whose ongoing task scores were beyond three standard deviations were eliminated
The findings were consistent with the hypotheses of Experiment 1, suggesting that the practice effect on time-based prospective memory (TBPM) was affected by the difficulty of the ongoing task
Summary
Prospective memory refers to the ability to remember to carry out an intended action at the appropriate time or during an appropriate situation in the future (Einstein and McDaniel, 1990). TBPM needs to be executed at a definite time point or after a certain time span (Einstein and McDaniel, 1990; Han et al, 2017). Many studies focus on how to improve prospective memory performance through behavior training (Waldum et al, 2016). Some studies further divided behavior training into strategy training and cognitive process training (Brom and Kliegel, 2014; Hering et al, 2014). Strategy training mainly trained individuals to use efficient coding strategy, while cognitive process training focused on how to improve the cognitive ability related to prospective memory.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
