Abstract
Four experiments were conducted to evaluate whether event-based prospective memory would be sensitive to the concurrent demands of the ongoing activity in which intention-related cues were embedded. In Experiments 1 and 2, random alternation between two judgments in the ongoing task reduced prospective memory as compared with having a single task throughout. In Experiment 3, participants' making two binary judgments on every trial resulted in worse prospective memory than did their making single four-alternative judgments. In Experiment 4, participants' making two related judgments resulted in better prospective memory than did their making two unrelated judgments. The results are consistent in spirit with a production rule account of the processing resources that are available when intention-related cues are encountered. Therefore, event-based prospective memory can inversely covary with the cognitive demands of the ongoing activity.
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Marsh, R.L., Hancock, T.W. & Hicks, J.L. The demands of an ongoing activity influence the success of event-based prospective memory. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 9, 604–610 (2002). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196319
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196319