1. Self Reported Memory Errors Across Age
Trang T. Nguyen, Madison M. Krueger, Claudina Tami, and Michael K. Scullin
Baylor University
References
(1) Mullet, H. G., Scullin, M. K., Hess, T. J., Scullin, R. B., Arnold, K. M., & Einstein, G. O. (2013). Prospective memory and aging: Evidence for preserved spontaneous retrieval with exact but not related
cues. Psychology and Aging, 28, 910-922.
(2) Crawford, J., Smith, G., Maylor, E., Della Sala, S., & Logie, R. (2003). The Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ): Normative data and latent structure in a large non-clinical
sample. Memory, 11, 261-275.
Conclusions
 Both young and older adults perceive commission errors and retrospective memory errors to occur less frequently in
naturalistic settings than omission errors and prospective memory errors.
 The lack of age differences in self-reported memory errors yields two possible explanations:
 Metacognitive Awareness View: older adults lack self-awareness of their declining memory.
 Compensation View: older adults utilize memory strategies and aids to compensate for their declining memory.
Results
N
Retrospective Memory Error Question:
Prospective Memory Error Question:
Omission Error Question:
Commission Error Question:
Baylor University
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
Prospective Memory Retrospective
Memory
MeanPRMQSubscaleScore
Prospective vs. Retrospective Memory Subscales
Young
Adults
Older
Adults
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
Omission Errors Commission Errors
MeanPRMQSubscaleScore
Omission vs. Commission Error Subscales
Young
Adults
Older
Adults
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
Session 1 Session 2
MeanPRMQTotalScore
Self-Reported Total PRMQ Across Sessions
Young
Adults
Older
Adults
2. Do you fail to recognize a place you
have visited before?
12. Do you fail to mention or give
something to a visitor that you were
asked to pass on?
15. Do you forget what you watched on
television the previous day?
17. Do you ever realize that you have
taken your medication twice
accidentally?
Very
often
Quite
Often
Sometimes Rarely Never
We used a modified version of the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire
(PRMQ) to assess self-reported prospective memory, retrospective memory, omission errors,
and commission errors (a new component that we developed). 2 Fifty-six young adults (64%
female; Mage = 21.34) and 55 older adults (58% female, Mage = 69.95) completed the PRMQ at
two different sessions separated by at least one week.
Total Omission Commission Prospective Retrospective
0.797*** 0.802*** 0.679*** 0.810*** 0.769***
*** is indicative of significance at the level of .001
Correlation between Session 1 and Session 2 scores across subscales:
No main effect of session, F(1, 88)=2.35, MSE=.05, p= .13
No main effect of age group, F(1, 88) < 1
No significant interaction between age group and session, F < 1
Significant main effect of memory type, F(1, 91)= 58.29, MSE= .051, p < .001
No main effect of age group, F < 1
No memory type and age group interaction, F < 1
Significant main effect of error type, F(1, 88)= 215.80, MSE= .09, p <.001
No main effect of age group, F < 1
No significant interaction between age group and error type, F (1, 88)=2.157,
MSE=.09, p =.15