Executive and Retrospective Memory Processes in Preschoolers’ Prospective Memory Development

Abstract

Prospective memory (PM), the ability to remember to carry out future intentions, is critical for children’s daily functioning. The Executive Framework of PM Development predicts that executive function should drive young children’s PM development once a sufficient level of retrospective memory has developed. In two studies, we investigated the predictors of PM development in 3- to 6-year-old children using behavioural and parent-reported measures. Neither retrospective memory nor executive function predicted children’s behavioural PM in Study 1. Retrospective memory significantly predicted parent-reported PM in Study 2. Across both studies, executive function consistently predicted parent-reported PM regardless of the method of measurement. Parent-report and behavioural measures may tap into different aspects of PM, but both retrospective memory and executive processes are important to PM development in early childhood.