Remembering the future: individual differences in metacognitive representation predict prospective memory performance on time-baseed [sic] and event-based tasks in early childhood

• Other Authors: Causey, Kayla B.
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Florida Atlantic University
• Subjects: Metacognition; Memory > Pyschological aspects; Social psychology; Cognition in children
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/2974431

Prospective memory is remembering to perform an action in the future, such as attending a meeting (a time-based task) or picking up milk at the gas station (an eventbased task), and is crucial to achieving goal-directed activities in everyday life. Children who fail to develop prospective memory abilities are likely to experience difficulties interacting with parents, teachers, and peers. To date, research on prospective memory development has been primarily descriptive or focused on underlying executive functioning. This dissertation investigated the developmental relationship between metacognitive representation and prospective memory in preschool and elementary school children and adults. Findings from Study 1 indicated that individual differences in representational ability independently predicted individual differences in 3-year-olds' performance on event-based tasks that are of low-interest. Qualitative changes are important to consider when modeling prospective memory develop ment, as with episodic memory. Study 2 presents findings based on a study using the CyberCruiser 2.0, an Xbox-style racing game designed to assess time-based prospective memory. This study confirmed that kindergarten children are capable of completing this time-based prospective memory task but revealed that performance improved with age. Between kindergarten and 2nd grade, children become better aware of their own mental processes and abilities, allowing them to adjust their strategies and perform more comparable to adults. As a result, in this study, younger children tended to overestimate their prospective memory abilities and were less likely to monitor passing time, causing them to fail more time-based task trials than older children and adults. === Similarly, participants who underestimated the costs of prospective memory failed more time-based tasks relative to those who more accurately assessed these costs. Although this latter relationship was limited to adults, it suggests that a poor metacognitive understanding of the costs of prospective memory may result in missed opportunities to carry out a delayed intention if individuals fail to allocate attentional resources appropriately. These findings have theoretical implications for models of prospective memory and development. Practical implications for educating children are also discussed. === by Kayla B. Causey. === Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. === Includes bibliography. === Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.