Laboratory paradigms to assess prospective memory

N-back time-based prospective memory task

This task was designed to assess time-based prospective memory in a laboratory setting using E-Prime2® (or later versions). The prospective memory task is embedded in a 2-back working memory task (i.e., ongoing task) for which participants have to indicate on each trial whether the current picture corresponds to the picture presented two trials earlier. The full paradigm consists of two blocks: a block of ‘ongoing task only’ followed by a block ‘ongoing plus prospective memory task’.

This task was used successfully in recent studies assessing healthy adults across the lifespan (e.g., from 19 to 86 years; see e.g., Zuber et al., 2021; Joly-Burra et al., 2022).

You can download more detailed description of the task, as well as ready-to-use E-Prime2® files (ZIP archive, 728.1 kB).

Examples of studies that have used different adaptations of this prospective memory paradigm
  • Altgassen, M., Phillips, L. H., Henry, J. D., Rendell, P. G., & Kliegel, M. (2010). Emotional target cues eliminate age differences in prospective memory. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 63(6), 1057-1064. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470211003770920
  • Ballhausen, N., Schnitzspahn, K. M., Horn, S. S., & Kliegel, M. (2017). The interplay of intention maintenance and cue monitoring in younger and older adults’ prospective memory. Memory & Cognition, 45(7), 1113‑1125. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-017-0720-5
  • Chen, Y., Lian, R., Yang, L., Liu, J., & Meng, Y. (2017). Working Memory Load and Reminder Effect on Event-Based Prospective Memory of High- and Low-Achieving Students in Math. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 50(5), 602‑608. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219416668322
  • Cona, G., Kliegel, M., & Bisiacchi, P. S. (2015). Differential effects of emotional cues on components of prospective memory : An ERP study. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00010
  • Einstein, G. O., Holland, L. J., McDaniel, M. A., & Guynn, M. J. (1992). Age-related deficits in prospective memory : The influence of task complexity. Psychology and Aging, 7(3), 471‑478. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.7.3.471
  • Einstein, G. O., & McDaniel, M. A. (1990). Normal aging and prospective memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 16(4), 717‑726. https://doi.org/10.1037//0278-7393.16.4.717
  • Jäger, T., & Kliegel, M. (2008). Time-based and event-based prospective memory across adulthood: Underlying mechanisms and differential costs on the ongoing task. The Journal of General Psychology, 135(1), 4‑22. https://doi.org/10.3200/GENP.135.1.4-22
  • Joly-Burra, E., Haas, M., Laera, G., Ghisletta, P., Kliegel, M., & Zuber, S. (2022). Frequency and Strategicness of Clock-Checking Explain Detrimental Age-Effects in Time-Based Prospective Memory. Psychology and Aging. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000693
  • Oksanen, K. M., Waldum, E. R., McDaniel, M. A., & Braver, T. S. (2014). Neural Mechanisms of Time-Based Prospective Memory : Evidence for Transient Monitoring. PLOS ONE, 9(3), e92123. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0092123
  • Zuber, S., Haas, M., Framorando, D., Ballhausen, N., Gillioz, E., Künzi, M., & Kliegel, M. (2021) The Geneva Space Cruiser: A Fully Self-Administered Online Tool to Assess Prospective Memory across the Adult Lifespan. Memory, 30(2), 117-132. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2021.1995435