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The Padua PM task: a new high-quality video-based prospective memory assessment in younger and older adults

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Abstract

Older adults are particularly compromised when engaged in Prospective Memory (PM) tasks, but it has also been pointed out that age-related PM decline is mainly observed in experimental settings (laboratory vs. naturalistic settings). Here, we present the Padua PM task, a new “real life” video-based assessment designed to investigate age-related PM changes in an ecologically valid but still well controlled way. The task requires participants to remember to perform event-based and time-based activities while watching short videos. The Padua PM task includes three different conditions namely “Standard condition”, “Event-based High Demand” (HD) and “Time-based High Demand” (HD) that aim to disentangle age-related PM impairment in older adults as a function of cognitive demand and of the monitoring requirements for intention retrieval. Participants (20 young adults mean age: 22.35 years and 20 older adults mean age: 68.90 years) were tested with a classical PM task (i.e., an n-back PM computerised task) and with the new Padua PM task. Results confirmed a lower PM performance in older adults compared to their younger counterparts. Older adults also showed a worse performance, than young ones, when the cue was time-based task compared to the event-based in the n-back task (laboratory task), but they showed an opposite pattern of performance in the Padua PM task (event-based and time-based HD conditions; video-based task). Time-based tasks were not necessarily more attentionally demanding than event-based tasks, but the involvement of attentional resources seemed to differently influence performance in different task types. It is concluded that the Padua PM task may serve as a useful tool to further investigate age-related differences in PM performance in the laboratory while using naturalistic task material.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Notes

  1. Three independent judges scored the videos for content difficulties and pleasantness and all audio were equivalent.

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Acknowledgements

This work was carried out within the scope of the project “use-inspired basic research”, for which the Department of General Psychology of the University of Padova has been recognized as “Dipartimento di Eccellenza” by the Ministry of University and Research.

Funding

This research was supported by Visiting Programme (2018), Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padova, Italy

    Giovanna Mioni, A. Cantarella, P. S. Bisiacchi & E. Borella

  2. Department of Developmental Psychology, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tilburg University, Warandelaan 2, 5037 AB, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Alexandra Hering

  3. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    Alexandra Hering & M. Kliegel

  4. Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    M. Kliegel

  5. LIVES, Overcoming Vulnerability: Life Course Perspectives, Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research, Geneva, Switzerland

    M. Kliegel

  6. Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    P. S. Bisiacchi

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  1. Giovanna Mioni
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  2. Alexandra Hering
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Mioni, G., Hering, A., Cantarella, A. et al. The Padua PM task: a new high-quality video-based prospective memory assessment in younger and older adults. Curr Psychol 42, 29230–29241 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03963-6

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