Definition
Prospective memory (PM) refers to the ability to perform a previously planned action or intention at a given time (time-based PM) or after a specific event (event-based PM) (Brandimonte et al. 2014). Examples of this may include remembering to take medication at a certain time every night (i.e., time-based), remembering to make doctors’ appointments (event-based), or remembering to pick something up from the grocery store on your way back from a friend’s house (i.e., event-based). This ability contrasts with retrospective memory ability – the ability to retrieve or recognize previously acquired information (e.g., phone numbers, details of a past event). The difference between retrospective memory and prospective memory could be characterized by the way in which information is retrieved. Retrospective memory is externally prompted, whereas PM relies heavily on...
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Shea, D.M., Woods, A.J. (2019). Prospective Memory in Older Adults. In: Gu, D., Dupre, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_712-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_712-1
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