Don't forget to remember: motivation and environmental cues affect prospective memory performance
Year: 2018
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Prospective memory (PM) refers to remembering to fulfill previously formed intentions. While some intentions are self-interested, others are prosocial, and both are influenced by motivational forces. This study examined these relationships using a monetary incentive to moderate motivation, and explored how metacognition was affected. College students (N = 75) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (i.e., prosocial, self-interested, or standard). Eye-tracking technology collected gaze data using a visual search task that incorporated a PM intention. Motivational orientation did not differentially influence PM performance. Metacognitive analyses indicated that while participants in the prosocial and standard conditions were underconfident, those in the self-interested condition accurately predicted their performance. Participants in the self-interested and standard conditions exhibited poor metacognitive awareness while those in the prosocial condition were accurate in gauging how well they actually did. These findings suggest that motivational states and incentives moderate metacognitive accuracy for PM intentions.
Author: Jessica Hacker
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2801323613