ABSTRACT
O ur capacity to shape and direct our future behavior is of fundamental importance in the development, pursuit, and maintenance of an inde-pendent and autonomous lifestyle from early childhood to late adulthood. It is dependent, to a large extent, on our ability to enact intended actions at an appropriate moment in the future, in the absence of direct reminders to do so, and without the support of highly practiced action sequences triggered by specic environmental cues. Actions such as brushing our teeth at bedtime, for example, are supported not only by environmental or physiological cues (e.g., being in the bathroom, feeling sleepy, late evening) but also numerous instances of prior performance of this action in the same or very similar contexts. By contrast, the performance of other intended actions, such as relaying a message to a family member later in the day, cannot inherently rely on these sources of support. The term prospective memory is commonly used to describe the means by which we succeed or fail in carrying out the latter types of activities and thereby identies a key set of processes that support the pursuit of an independent and fullling life.
