The art of thinking · 3 · Memory
Prospective memory
Also known as: Remembering to remember, Memory for intentions
German: prospektives Gedächtnis
In cognitive psychology, prospective memory is remembering to carry out an intended action at the right moment in the future — when an event occurs (event-based) or at a certain time (time-based) — as distinct from retrospective memory for past information.
- Cognitive psychology
- Memory
- Human factors
In one sentence
Prospective memory is remembering to carry out an intended action later, at an event or a time; it often fails after interruptions.
Example
Before a test run a technician bridges a sensor and intends to remove the bridge afterwards. A phone call interrupts the work, and the bridge stays in place.
What the research shows
Gilles O. Einstein and Mark A. McDaniel (1990) introduced a laboratory paradigm in which participants perform an ongoing task and must respond when a cue word appears; in their study, older adults did not perform worse than younger adults on this event-based task. Research since then distinguishes event-based from time-based intentions and shows that a cue that is distinctive and closely tied to the intention supports remembering. R. Key Dismukes (2012) reviewed workplace situations in aviation and medicine: intentions are forgotten especially when a task is interrupted, when a habitual sequence is changed, when an action must be deferred, and when attention is absorbed by another task; he discussed ways to reduce this vulnerability, such as salient reminders at the point of action.
Evidence status
Prospective memory failures are common and well documented; the laboratory paradigms are established. How much depends on spontaneous retrieval versus active monitoring is still researched. Workplace situations have been studied less than laboratory tasks, as Dismukes notes. In human error classifications, a forgotten intended action is a lapse.
How it applies
Steps that must be done later — removing a bridge, re-enabling a guard, resetting a parameter after a test — depend on prospective memory, which interruptions disrupt. The glossary “Applied cognitive psychology for information use” covers the design side, for example checklists and resumption lag. A cue in the documentation supports remembering; whether a deferred step may depend on memory at all is a matter for the risk assessment and technical measures such as an interlock.
External references
How to read this pool
Entries, context cards and transitional topics
The art of thinking explains ways of thinking — where a method comes from, what it asks of you and how it was adapted later. You meet four kinds of content here, each with its own job:
- Glossary entry
- Defines one concept or method of thinking: its origin, an example and how it relates to neighboring ideas. “X vs. Y” sections set two methods side by side.
- Context card of the art of thinking
- A short, self-contained answer to one question about a way of thinking — its lineage, its steps, its limits. These cards are listed on The art of thinking only.
- Transitional topicBridges both pools
- A context card that bridges both pools: it shows how a way of thinking was adapted into documentation, analysis or quality practice. It sits with the reference context cards and is marked as transitional wherever it appears.
- Reference entry or context card
- Belongs to the Glossary & Norms Space on regulation, norms and engineering. Entries here link to one only where a method is also an established tool of documentation or quality work, such as the five whys or a user’s mental model.