ABSTRACT

Since the time of Ebbinghaus, memory researchers have focused on studying explicit retrospective memory or conscious recollection for past events (e.g., free recall, cued recall, and recognition). In recent years there has been increased interest in prospective memory, or remembering to perform actions in the future, such as remembering to put the garbage out on Wednesday nights and remembering to attend a scheduled meeting. Given the prevalence of prospective memory demands in everyday life in both work and nonwork settings (Dismukes, 2008; McDaniel & Einstein, 2007), along with the belief that one of the central functions of human memory is to plan for future actions so that we can respond appropriately to upcoming events (Klein, Robertson, & Delton, 2010), it is surprising that the topic was virtually ignored up until about 25 years ago.