Psychology Commons^™

Understanding Task Interference In Prospective Memory Using On-Line Probes: Strategic Delay Or Limited-Capacity Monitoring?, Francis T. Anderson

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In prospective memory (PM) research, a common finding is that people are generally slower to respond to a given ongoing task (OT) when they have to perform a PM task concurrently, as compared to performing the OT alone. Multiprocess theory claims that this slowing, termed task interference, is indicative of monitoring processes. Monitoring is thought to be cognitively demanding and heavily reliant on working memory, as people hold their intention in mind and look for features relevant to the PM task. PM decision control (PMDC) theory, instead, proposes that task interference reflects a strategic and intentional delay strategy. To address …