prospective memory
Summary
Prospective memory is remembering to carry out an intended action in the future, such as mailing a letter or taking a pill at a set time. It contrasts with retrospective memory, recall of past events or information. Testable point: it relies on cues (event-based or time-based) and often fails when attention is diverted.
Detail
Meaning: Prospective memory is memory for intentions. You form a plan now and must retrieve it at the right moment later, usually without anyone prompting you. Two cue types are common: event-based (give a friend a message when you see them) and time-based (take medication at 8 p.m.). Success requires encoding the intention, holding it while you do other tasks, noticing the cue, and recalling what to do. Because it draws on attention and working memory, it is more likely to fail when you are busy or distracted. External aids such as alarms and notes improve it.
On the MCAT: A passage may describe a person who forgets to take pills, or an experiment in which participants do one task but must press a key whenever a certain word appears. You classify the memory as prospective rather than retrospective, or predict that a distractor lowers performance while a reminder cue raises it.
Common confusion: Students think prospective memory is a separate storage system or that it means predicting the future. It is a function: the intention is formed in the past, but what you must recall is a future action. Retrospective memory is about what already happened or was learned. Forgetting a name you heard yesterday is retrospective; forgetting to call someone this evening is prospective.
Sources
- Psychology
- Exploring Psychology
Written for the MCAT and checked before it was published. For study reference only. Spotted an error? Let us know.