title: Women outperform men in remembering to remember.
abstract: The study of gender differences in prospective memory (i.e., remembering to remember) has received modest attention in the literature. The few reported studies investigating either subjective or objective evaluations of prospective memory have shown inconsistent data. In this study, we aimed to verify the presence of gender differences during the performance of an objective prospective memory test by considering the weight of specific variables such as length of delay, type of response, and type of cue. We submitted a sample of 100 healthy Italian participants (50 men and 50 women) to a test expressly developed to assess prospective memory: The Memory for Intentions Screening Test. Women performed better than men in remembering to do an event-based task (i.e., prompted by an external event) and when the task required a physical response modality. We discuss the behavioural differences that emerged by considering the possible role of sociological, biological, neuroanatomical, and methodological variables.
authors: a School of Life and Health Sciences , Aston University , Birmingham , UK.|b Neuropsychology Unit , IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia of Rome , Rome , Italy.
authors: Liana
authors: L
authors: Palermo
authors: c Department of Psychology , "Sapienza" University of Rome , Rome , Italy.
authors: Maria Cristina
authors: MC
authors: Cinelli
authors: b Neuropsychology Unit , IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia of Rome , Rome , Italy.|d Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences , L'Aquila University , L'Aquila , Italy.
authors: Laura
authors: L
authors: Piccardi
authors: b Neuropsychology Unit , IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia of Rome , Rome , Italy.
authors: Paola
authors: P
authors: Ciurli
authors: b Neuropsychology Unit , IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia of Rome , Rome , Italy.
authors: Chiara
authors: C
authors: Incoccia
authors: c Department of Psychology , "Sapienza" University of Rome , Rome , Italy.
authors: Laura
authors: L
authors: Zompanti
authors: b Neuropsychology Unit , IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia of Rome , Rome , Italy.|c Department of Psychology , "Sapienza" University of Rome , Rome , Italy.
authors: Cecilia
authors: C
authors: Guariglia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; C021081:recognins
keywords: Gender differences; Memory for intentions; Prospective memory