Abstract

Prospective memory is a self-generated memory which is concerned with performing intended actions in our everyday life. It is a memory of ongoing action or delayed intention regarding the action to be carried out in the future. In this study, we performed two experimental studies in order to identify whether or not age-related differences exist in prospective memory. In experiment 1(exp. 1), we tested if the presence of memory aids(external memory aids: no memory aids) have differential effects on young vs. old subject group. Results of exp. 1 showed age differences in prospective memory performances as well as in retrospective memory tasks. In experiment 2(exp. 2), the age effect in prospective memory was examined by manipulating the distinctiveness of target events(high-distinctiveness: low-distinctiveness). Results of exp. 2 revealed reliable age differences in prospective memory tasks like in exp. 1. But the presence of memory aids and the distinctiveness of target events showed only marginal effects on prospective memory task performances. Also regression analyses in both experiments revealed that the nature of the tasks for two types of memory is quite different, which confirms the assumption that the prospective memory and the retrospective memory are independent.