Prospective and retrospective metacognitive judgments of prospective memory performance across the lifespan

Abstract

Prospective Memory (PM), the ability to carry out future intentions at a specific time or event, develops in an inverted U-shaped function across the lifespan. Most studies have examined age-related changes in PM with regard to the role of executive functions. Although more recent studies have emphasized the importance of metacognition for successful prospective remembering, very little is known about the development of metacognitive abilities across the lifespan and their impact on PM performance. Therefore, the current study examined developmental differences in metacognitive monitoring and PM in five age groups in Germany (N = 151): children (9–10 years), adolescents (14–15 years), young adults (20–25 years), middle-aged adults (30–50 years) and old adults (60+ years). Metacognitive monitoring was assessed by asking participants to judge their performance before (prediction) and after (postdiction) working on a lab-based PM task (Virtual Week). PM performance increased from childhood into adolescence, rema