The results fully replicate and extend initial findings of Chi et al. (2014) and McDaniel, Shelton, Breneiser, Moynan, and Balota (2011), showing substantial spontaneous retrieval deficits in PM performance of aMCI individuals. Possible brain mechanisms involved in this deficit are discussed and a novel hypothesis of more generic spontaneous retrieval deficits in aMCI is proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Prospective memory (PM) involves remembering intended actions in response to a target event or at a particular time. Both the PM theories and laboratory-based studies suggest that event-based tasks are less difficult to perform. The present study investigated whether the superior performance of event-based tasks generalizes to real-life intentions, and examined the relationships between the intention completion and various characteristics of daily living, for example, busyness, routine, affect, and stress. Every day, for 5 days, 129 participants listed their intentions for the following day and indicated whether intentions were time-based or event-based. As each day concluded, they evaluated the intention completion and characteristics of the passing day. The difference in performance between the two types of tasks was reversed using real-life intentions: Time-based intentions were performed better. Performance was also positively related to routine and positive affect and adversely related to stress. Mechanisms underlying PM performance in daily life are discussed.

Abstract. The present research developed and tested a new individual-difference measure of beliefs about autobiographical memory. We assumed that someone's implicit memory theory results in high or low skepticism about memory credibility. Based on the metamemory literature we hypothesized that this skepticism might be a predictor of memory accuracy in various memory tasks. The first phase of the research developed the Implicit Memory Theory Scale (IMTS). The exploratory factor analysis revealed three factors that were converted into three subscales of the 37-item measure. Cronbach α coefficients and test-retest correlations showed acceptable to high reliability for the global scale and three subscales. Validation studies indicated that the scale was sensitive to individual differences in professional knowledge of autobiographical memory and manipulation that involved providing respondents with this kind of knowledge. As predicted, IMTS scores were associated with accuracy in a misinformation experiment. The potential utility of the IMTS for memory research and an applied setting is discussed.

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