Abstract
Previous studies have found that time stress detriments event-based prospective memory (EBPM). Currently, there is indirect evidence that time stress may only affect difficult EBPM but not easy EBPM. In addition, in a study on acute stress, we found that different intensities of stress had different effects on EBPM performance. Therefore, our study explores how different levels of time stress affect EBPM performance under different numbers of prospective targets. In our study, 112 college students were randomly assigned to one of four stress conditions. A 4 (time stress: control group, low, medium, and high) × 2 (prospective target: single and multiple) mixed experimental design was used. The results showed that in the single prospective target condition, low and medium levels of time stress did not affect EBPM accuracy compared with the control group, and only high time stress impaired EBPM accuracy. In the multiple prospective targets condition, an increase in time stress resulted in a gradual decrease in EBPM accuracy. Overall, we found no benefit of time stress; low and medium levels of time stress did not affect simple EBPM, and high levels of time stress always impaired EBPM, and validated the conclusion that time stress is an obstructive stressor under complex EBPM. This reveals that in time-stress environments, we should avoid planning complex EBPM events and choose simple EBPM events.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
References
Alqahtani, D. A., Rotgans, J. I., Ahmed, N. E., Alalwan, I. A., & Magzoub, M. E. M. (2016). The influence of time pressure and case complexity on physicians׳ diagnostic performance. Health Professions Education, 2(2), 99–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpe.2016.01.006
Anderson, F. T., Strube, M. J., & McDaniel, M. A. (2019). Toward a better understanding of costs in prospective memory: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 145(11), 1053–1081. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000208
Astakhova, M. N. (2015). The Curvilinear relationship between work passion and organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 130, 361–374. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2233-5
Baer, M., & Oldham, G. R. (2006). The curvilinear relation between experienced creative time pressure and creativity: Moderating effects of openness to experience and support for creativity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(4), 963–965. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.4.963
Ball, B. H., Pitaes, M., & Brewer, G. A. (2018). Individual differences in episodic memory abilities predict successful prospective memory output monitoring. Memory (Hove, England), 26(78), 1159–1168. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2018.1436180
Ballard, T., Vancouver, J. B., & Neal, A. (2018). On the pursuit of multiple goals with different deadlines. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103(11), 1242–1264. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000304
Boag, R. J., Strickland, L., Loft, S., & Heathcote, A. (2019). Strategic attention and decision control support prospective memory in a complex dual-task environment. Cognition, 191, 103974. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2019.05.011
Braver, T. S. (2012). The variable nature of cognitive control: A dual mechanisms framework. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16(2), 106–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2011.12.010
Bugg, J. M., Scullin, M. K., & Rauvola, R. S. (2016). Forgetting no-longer-relevant prospective memory intentions is (sometimes) harder with age but easier with forgetting practice. Psychology and Aging, 31(4), 358–369. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000087
Buttafuoco, A., Pedale, T., Buchanan, T. W., & Santangelo, V. (2018). Only efficient emotional stimuli affect the content of working memory during free-recollection from natural scenes. Cognitive Processing, 19(1), 125–132.
Cohen, A. L., Jaudas, A., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2008). Number of cues influences the cost of remembering to remember. Memory & Cognition, 36(1), 149–156.
Cuttler, C., Spradlin, A., Nusbaum, A. T., Whitney, P., Hinson, J. M., & McLaughlin, R. J. (2019). Joint effects of stress and chronic cannabis use on prospective memory. Psychopharmacology (Berl), 236(6), 1973–1983.
Donkin, C., Little, D. R., & Houpt, J. W. (2014). Assessing the speed–accuracy trade-off effect on the capacity of information processing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 40(3), 1183–1202. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035947
Einstein, G. O., & Mcdaniel, M. A. (1990). Normal aging and prospective memory. Experimental Psychology Learning Memory & Cognition, 16(4), 717–726. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.16.4.717
Einstein, G. O., & McDaniel, M. A. (2005). Prospective memory: Multiple retrieval processes. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14(6), 286–290. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0963-7214.2005.00382.x
Einstein, G. O., McDaniel, M. A., Thomas, R., Mayfield, S., Shank, H., Morrisette, N., & Breneiser, J. (2005). Multiple processes in prospective memory retrieval: Factors determining monitoring versus spontaneous retrieval. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 134(3), 327–342. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.134.3.327
Endres, D. N., Byrne, K. A., Anaraky, R. G., Adesegun, N., Six, S. G., & Tibbett, T. P. (2020). Stop the clock because I can’t stop: Time pressure, but not monitoring pressure, impairs response inhibition performance. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 32(2), 627–644. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2020.1810692
Gardner, D. G. (1986). Activation theory and task design: An empirical test of several new predictions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(3), 411–418. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.71.3.411
Guo, Y. F., Xing, C., Gan, J. Q., & Chen, Y. Z. (2017). The effect of task regularity on prospective memory. Journal of Psychological Science, 6, 1309–1315. https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20170605
Heathcote, A., Loft, S., & Remington, R. W. (2015). Slow down and remember to remember! A delay theory of prospective memory costs. Psychological Review, 122(2), 376–410. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038952
Hockey, R. (2013). The psychology of fatigue work, effort, and control. Cambridge University Press.
James, B. R., Luke, S., Andrew, H., Andrew, N., & Shayne, L. (2019). Cognitive control and capacity for prospective memory in complex dynamic environments. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 148(12), 354–360. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000599
Kim, J., Nembhard, D. A., & Kim, J. H. (2016). The effects of group size and task complexity on deadline reactivity. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 56, 106–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2016.09.011
Kretschmer-Trendowicz, A., Kliegel, M., Goschke, T., & Altgassen, M. (2021). If-then’ but when? Effects of implementation intentions on children’s and adolescents’ prospective memory. Cognitive Development, 57(7). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2020.100998
Lepine, J. A., Podsakoff, N. P., & Lepine, M. A. (2005). A meta-analytic test of the challenge stressor–hindrance stressor framework: An explanation for inconsistent relationships among stressors and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 48(5), 764–775. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2005.18803921
Li, A. M., Yan, L., Wang, X. T., & Li, F. J. (2015). Double-edged effect of time pressure and its mechanism. Advances in Psychological Science, 23(9), 1627–1636. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1042.2015.01627
Lin, B. B., Chen, Y. Z., & Zhou, T. T. (2023). Effect of time pressure and cue salience on event-based prospective memory. Current Psychology, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04240-w
Loft, S., Bolland, S., Humphreys, M. S., & Neal, A. (2009). A theory and model of conflict detection in air traffic control: Incorporating environmental constraints. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 15(2), 106–124. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016118
Loft, S., Kearney, R., & Remington, R. (2008). Is task interference in event-based prospective memory dependent on cue presentation? Memory & Cognition, 36, 139–148. https://doi.org/10.3758/MC.36.1.139
Louro, M. J., Pieters, R., & Zeelenberg, M. (2007). Dynamics of multiple-goal pursuit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(2), 174–193. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.93.2.174
Mahy, C., Moses, L. J., & Kliegel, M. (2014). The development of prospective memory in children: An executive framework. Developmental Review, 34(4), 305–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2014.08.001
Mani, A., Mullainathan, S., Shafir, E., & Zhao, J. (2013). Poverty impedes cognitive. function. Science, 341(6149), 976–980. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1238041
McFarland, C. P., & Glisky, E. L. (2011). Implementation intentions and prospective memory among older adults: An investigation of the role of frontal lobe function. Aging Neuropsychology and Cognition, 18(6), 633–652. https://doi.org/10.1080/13825585.2011.613449
Meier, B., & Graf, P. (2000). Transfer appropriate processing for prospective memory tests. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 14(SpecIssue), S11–S27. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.768
Meier, B., & Zimmermann, T. D. (2015). Loads and loads and loads: the influence of prospective load, retrospective load, and ongoing task load in prospective memory. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9, 322. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00322
Merz, J., & Rathjen, T. (2014). Time and income poverty: An interdependent multidimensional poverty approach with German time use diary data. FFB-Discussionpaper, 60(3), 450–479. https://doi.org/10.1111/roiw.12117
Möschl, M., Walser, M., Plessow, F., Goschke, T., & Fischer, R. (2017). Acute stress shifts the balance between controlled and automatic processes in prospective memory. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 144(3), 53–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2017.06.002
Neal, A., Ballard, T., & Vancouver, J. B. (2017). Dynamic self-regulation and MultipleGoal Pursuit. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4(1), 401–423. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032516-113156
Okuda, J., Fujii, T., Ohtake, H., Tsukiura, T., Yamadori, A., Frith, C. D., & Burgess, P. W. (2007). Differential involvement of regions of rostral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann area 10) in time- and event-based prospective memory. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 64(3), 233–246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2006.09.009
Palada, H., Neal, A., Tay, R., & Heathcote, A. (2018). Understanding the causes of adapting, and failing to adapt, to time pressure in a complex multistimulus environment. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 24(3), 380–399. https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000176
Prem, R., Kubicek, B., Diestel, S., & Korunka, C. (2016). Regulatory job stressors and their within—person relationships with ego depletion? The roles of state anxiety, self—control effort, and job autonomy regulatory job stressors and their within—person relationships with ego depletion: The roles of state. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 92, 22–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2015.11.004
Rae, B., Heathcote, A., Donkin, C., Averell, L., & Brown, S. (2014). The hare and the tortoise: Emphasizing speed can change the evidence used to make decisions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition, 40(5), 1226–1243. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036801
Rice, S., & Trafimow, D. (2012). Time pressure heuristics can improve performance due to increased consistency. The Journal of General Psychology, 139(4), 273–288. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221309.2012.705187
Schmidt, A. M., & Dolis, C. M. (2009). Something’s got to give: The effects of dual-goal diffificulty, goal progress, and expectancies on resource allocation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(3), 678–691. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014945
Schmitt, A., Ohly, S., & Kleespies, N. (2015). Time pressure promotes work engagement. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 14(1), 28–36. https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000119
Scullin, M. K., McDaniel, M. A., & Einstein, G. O. (2010). Control of cost in prospective memory: Evidence for spontaneous retrieval processes. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition, 36(1), 190–195. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017732
Shah, A. K., Mullainathan, S., & Shafir, E. (2012). Some consequences of having too little. Science, 338(07), 682–685. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1222426
Simons, J. S., Schölvinck, M. L., Gilbert, S. J., Frith, C. D., & Burgess, P. W. (2006). Differential components of prospective memory? Evidence from fMRI. Neuropsychologia, 44(8), 1388–1397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.01.005
Stewart, B. T., & McFarland, C. P. (2020). An investigation of the relations between stress and prospective memory. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 32(2), 131–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2020.1724116
Szollos, A. (2009). Toward a psychology of chronic time pressure: Conceptual and methodological review. Time & Society, 18(2), 332–350. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X09337847
Wesslein, A. K., Rummel, J., & Boywitt, C. D. (2014). Differential effects of cue specificity and list length on the prospective and retrospective prospective-memory components. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 26(2), 135–146. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2013.865628
Whillans, A. V. (2019). Time for happiness: Why the Pursuit of Money Isn’t Bringing You Joy—and What Will. Special Issue on HBR Big Idea: Time Poor and Unhappy. Harvard Business Review. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55600
Wilcox, K., Laran, J., Stephen, A. T., & Zubcsek, P. P. (2016). How being busy can increase motivation and reduce task completion time. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 110(3), 371–384. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000045
Yan, T. (2018). The effect of time pressure and presence vectors on reading performance and metacomprehension (Doctoral). Zhejiang Normal University.
Yu, R., Yang, L., Guo, X., & Zhang, Y. (2015). Effect of time pressure on dynamic visual search performance. Procedia Manufacturing, 3, 4658–4664. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2015.07.556
Zimmermann, T. D., & Meier, B. (2010). The effect of implementation intentions on prospective memory performance across the lifespan. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 24(5), 645–658. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1576
Zimmermann, T. D., & Meier, B. (2006). The rise and decline of prospective memory performance across the lifespan. Quarterly journal of Experimental Psychology, 59(12), 2040–2046. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470210600917835
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by [Bingbing Lin], [Kunyan Wang] and [Cong Xin]. The first draft of the manuscript was written by [Bingbing Lin] and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by the Academic Committee of Fujian Normal University.
Informed consent
Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.
Competing interests
On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Lin, B., Wang, K., Xin, C. et al. Effect of time stress on event-based prospective memory with several prospective targets. Curr Psychol 43, 14725–14737 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05455-7
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05455-7