The Characteristics Of Fluctuation In Event-Based Prospective Memory

The present thesis begins with discussion on the characteristics of experimental research on prospective memory (PM). The characteristics included small number of PM cues, data analysis at general level, exploring PM by analyzing data of ongoing task (OT). The author suggested a new angle to view the mechanism of PM, the new angle that we could analyze the fluctuation of OT at general and specific level to enrich the knowledge of PM.The present thesis utilized Personal Coefficient of Variation as the index of fluctuation of OT. The Personal Coefficient of Variation was inspired by the Coefficient of Variation. The calculation was almost the same, except that the former one was based on personal data. The paper re-analyzed two published experiments and one undergoing experiment, focusing on the fluctuation of OT by Personal Coefficient of Variation. Then it discussed the factors that influence the fluctuation, and showed an example of filtering data via such index. The negative correlation between PM accuracy and Personal Coefficient of Variation was discussed. It seemed to be the result of cognitive resource competition between PM and OT.In order to discover the relationship between PM and the fluctuation of OT, an experiment was specifically designed. It was a 3 Tasks(control, PM expectation, PM execution)×2 Fluctuation (high peak, low peak) design. The innovative feature of the experiment was that the time for the presence of PM cues was based on the situation of OT latency. When the OT latency in a trial increased to a certain high criteria, PM cues labeled as High Peak were presented as following. When it decreased to a certain low criteria, PM cues labeled as Low Peak were presented as following. The experiment compared PM latency and accuracy in such two conditions to explore the influence of fluctuation of OT on PM. Comparing OT latency and accuracy between 3 different tasks, we could explore the influence of PM on OT fluctuation.The result revealed that the execution of PM increased the fluctuation of OT, comparing with other two tasks; Only the expectation of PM cues (without presence of PM cues) had no effect on the fluctuation; The high or low peak of OT latency did not affect the PM tasks. Analyze at specific level indicated that PM tended to be an automatic process; However, at the general level, PM seemed to be a strategic process.