Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39932311›Full record

SynthesisThe journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences2025

Factors Explaining Age-Related Prospective Memory Performance Differences: A Meta-analysis.

Marta Menéndez-Granda, Nadine Schmidt, Gianvito Laera, Annick Clenin, Matthias Kliegel, Michael Orth, Jessica Peter

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Marta Menéndez-GrandaUniversity Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0001-6083-1859
Nadine SchmidtUniversity Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Gianvito LaeraCognitive Aging Lab (CAL), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Annick CleninUniversity Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Matthias KliegelCognitive Aging Lab (CAL), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Michael OrthUniversity Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Jessica PeterUniversity Hospital of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-0817-8431

Funding

Swiss National Science Foundation 185105Swiss National Science Foundation 218252
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThe age-prospective memory paradox states that younger adults perform better than older adults in laboratory tasks, whereas the opposite has been observed for naturalistic tasks. These terms insufficiently characterize tasks and task settings. We therefore revisited the age-prospective memory paradox using a newly developed taxonomy to better understand how task characteristics or task settings contribute to age-related differences in performance.

methodsWe conducted a meta-analysis of 138 studies, classifying prospective memory tasks according to our newly developed taxonomy. The taxonomy included 9 categories that considered how close any task or task setting was to daily life.

resultsWhen categorizing relevant studies with this taxonomy, we found that older adults did better than younger adults in "close to real-life" tasks done at home and, particularly, in to-do lists and diary tasks. However, they did worse in "far from real-life" tasks done in naturalistic environments or in simulations of real-life tasks in a laboratory. DISCUSSION: Results of this meta-analysis suggest that the level of abstraction of a task and familiarity with the environment in which the task is taken can explain some of the differences between the performances of younger and older people. This is relevant for the choice of task settings and task properties to experimentally address any prospective memory research questions that are being asked.

Indexed as

AgingMemory, EpisodicTask Performance and AnalysisAdultAgedAge FactorsHumansMiddle AgedYoung AdultAge-prospective memory paradoxEcological validityFocalityFuture intentionsOld age

Identifiers

PMID39932311
PMCPMC12084826

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.