Principal Investigator: mgr Maria Wójcik
Research project objectives/Research hypothesisThe subject of this research project is prospective memory, which is defined as an ability to remember about performingspecific activities in the future. The subject of the research is privateintentions ofthe respondents performedin theirnatural environment.Such memory is often used in daily lifeto performintentions, from simple ones (remembering about disposing of garbage while leaving home) to more complex ones (remembering about organizingbirthday party for friends).The main goal of the research projectis to find out how people manage to perform theirindividual intentionsandto findsignificantpredictorsof performance of prospective tasks in daily life ofpeople inearly and middle adulthood. Examining the impact of the type of a prospective task (time-based and event-based tasks) on thelevel of performance of prospective tasks andrelation between dominantaffect(positive, negative) andperformance of dailyprospective taskswill be particularly important. Other variables, of which relation with performance will be analysed: level of stress, personal importanceof intentions, the frequency of making use of external assistance, the level of being absorbed by daily life.Research project methodologyAn advantage of the project will bea new methodology ofresearch onperformance ofdaily prospective intentionsthat enables to determinevarious types ofprospective tasks andexamine thelevel ofperformance of these tasks. The main research will be conductedamongprofessionally active people, at the age between 40 and 59. The respondentswill be divided into two age groups: a group of people inearly adulthood(at the age between 24 and 39) and agroup of people inmiddle adulthood(at the age between 40 and 59). In addition, a groupof students (both students of master’s and postgraduate studies) at the age between 24 and 30 will be selected and compared with a subgroup of professionally active people in early adulthoodatthe same age.Two research will be conducted–one extensive research, with measurement of all potentially significantpredictorsof prospective memory and more detailed measurement of performance ofprospective tasks and one less extensive research–in which type of prospective task will be manipulatedto check its impact on performanceof scheduled prospective tasks.The research methodapplied in my research will consist of:1) the author’s own questionnaire in three parts that will enable to examine dailyprospective tasks,taking division into prospective tasks with event-based and time-based contextinto account, 2)daily measurement of performance ofprospective tasks in a given day, taking punctuality of their performance into consideration, 3) Positive and NegativeAffect Schedule PANASexamining thelevel ofaffect in a given day, 4) Sense of Stress Questionnaire-measuringgeneral level of stressand5) aquestionnaireadapted toPolish conditions ,,Business of Life” –determiningthe level of being absorbed by daily life.Expected impact of the researchproject on the development of scienceAn expected final effect will be determination ofsignificantpredictorshaving impact on performance of prospective tasks with time-based and event-based context in peoplein early and middle adulthood. Prospective memory is a new and developingresearch area, therefore, there are not too many research on this subject. This research project will fill the gap in literature. There are not too manyresearch on prospective memory innatural conditionsanalysingprivateintentions of peoplewith division intointentions with time-based and event-based context. Therefore, thisresearch will show how people manage to performintended actions in theconditionsof daily life.An advantage of thisresearchwill also be aresearchgroup of peoplein middle adulthood. The performance of prospective tasks innatural conditions andsensitivity to change of context fromlaboratoryintonaturalhas never been analysed in such a group. Therefore,thisresearch will contributetofutureresearch on dailyprospective tasks.