title: State orientation and memory load impair prospective memory performance in older compared to younger persons.
abstract: A modified event-based paradigm of prospective memory was applied to investigate intention initiation in older and younger participants under high versus low memory load (subsequent episodic word recall vs. recognition). State versus action orientation, a personality dimension related to intention enactment, was also measured. State-oriented persons show a superiority effect for the storage of intentions in an explicit format but have a paradoxical deficit in their actual enactment. We predicted an interaction between aging, personality, and memory load, with longer intention-initiation latencies and higher omission rates for older state-oriented participants under high memory load. Results were consistent with predictions and are interpreted according to current personality and prospective memory models of aging.
authors: a Division of Differential Psychology and Personality Research, Faculty of Human Sciences , University of Osnabrück , Osnabrueck , Germany.
authors: Reiner
authors: R
authors: Kaschel
authors: a Division of Differential Psychology and Personality Research, Faculty of Human Sciences , University of Osnabrück , Osnabrueck , Germany.
authors: Miguel
authors: M
authors: Kazén
authors: a Division of Differential Psychology and Personality Research, Faculty of Human Sciences , University of Osnabrück , Osnabrueck , Germany.
authors: Julius
authors: J
authors: Kuhl
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010551:Personality; D011581:Psychological Tests; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: PSI theory; Prospective memory; age decrements; memory load; state orientation