The impact of sensory modality on prospective memory: Differences between visual and auditory processing

Vicentin, Stefano; Cona, Giorgia; Arcara, Giorgio; Bisiacchi, Patrizia

doi:10.1177/17470218221103500

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 49 publications

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“…In the PM task, eight additional trials containing the target syllable (the so-called PM cue) were placed within the other trials (frequency of the PM cue: 7,4%), leaving at least 10 trials between each PM cue. The strings of letters were selected from a dataset used in previous studies to investigate PM processing (Vicentin et al, 2022).…”

Section: Stimuli and Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thinking about it: The impact of COVID-19 related stimuli on Prospective Memory

Vicentin

Cantarella

Cona

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Since 2020, information regarding COVID-19 has been a constant presence in the news and in our thoughts. Does this burden affect abilities essential to everyday functioning, such as Prospective Memory (PM), the ability to remember to perform an intention in the future? To answer this question, we proposed a PM paradigm composed of a Baseline and a PM conditions, between which a video clip was inserted. One of three possible video clips was displayed to each participant, presenting either neutral, negative, or COVID-related contents. To evaluate participants’ well-being and experience with the pandemic, the DASS-21 scale and the COVID-19-PTSD questionnaire were administered. A linear mixed effect (LME) model revealed a significant effect of the video on performance: participants that saw the COVID-related clip performed significantly better in the PM condition than participants in the other conditions, whereas the presentation of the video displaying negative contents was associated with decreased accuracy in the PM condition compared to the Baseline. Altogether, these results indicate a different effect of the exposure to “classical” negative contents (associated with decreased performance) and pandemic-related ones, that showed instead to improve accuracy. This counterintuitive finding seems to suggest that COVID-related stimuli are processed as “acute stressors” rather than negative stimuli. The explanatory power of the LME Model calculated on accuracy increased when the scores in the anxiety subscale of the DASS-21 were included suggesting a detrimental role of anxiety on our ability to perform a PM task.

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Section: Stimuli and Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thinking about it: The impact of COVID-19 related stimuli on Prospective Memory

Vicentin

Cantarella

Cona

et al. 2023

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Thinking about it: the impact of COVID-19-related stimuli on prospective memory

Vicentin,

Cantarella,

Cona

et al. 2023

PeerJ

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Background Since 2020, information regarding COVID-19 has been a constant presence in the news, in our conversations and thoughts. Continuous exposure to this type of stimuli could have an impact on cognitive processes essential for our everyday activities, such as prospective memory (PM). PM is the ability to remember to perform an intention at a specific point in the future, like remembering to take prescribed medicines at a specific time or to turn off the stove after cooking. Do COVID-related stimuli affect our ability to perform a PM task? Methods To answer this question, we proposed a novel version of the classical paradigm used to investigate PM. Namely, this paradigm includes a baseline condition, in which an ongoing task is presented alone, and a PM condition in which the same task is proposed again together with a second (prospective) task. In this study, a short video clip was presented between the baseline and the PM condition. The video clip displayed either neutral, negative, or COVID-related content. Additionally, participants were asked to respond to two questionnaires and a series of questions regarding their well-being and experience with the pandemic. Namely, the DASS-21 scale (evaluating depression, anxiety, and stress), and the COVID-19-PTSD questionnaire (a questionnaire evaluating post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms related to the pandemic experience) were administered. Participants’ performance and responses were analyzed using a linear mixed effect (LME) model approach, and correlation analyses were run to highlight possible correlations between participants’ scores in the DASS-21, the COVID-19-PTSD, and the additional questions on their personal experience with the pandemic. Results The LME models revealed significant effects of the displayed video on performance: in line with previous studies, the clip displaying standard negative contents led to impaired accuracy in the ongoing task in the PM condition, compared to the Baseline. In contrast, participants who saw the COVID-related clip showed improved accuracy in the ongoing task compared to the other participants, selectively in the block performed after the video clip was displayed (PM condition). Furthermore, the explanatory power of the LME model calculated on accuracy to the ongoing trials was enhanced by the inclusion of the scores in the anxiety subscale of the DASS-21, suggesting a detrimental role of anxiety. Altogether, these results indicate a different effect of the exposure to classical negative contents (associated with a cost in terms of accuracy in the ongoing task between the baseline and the PM condition) and the pandemic-related one, which was instead characterized by a higher accuracy to ongoing trials compared to the other video clips. This counterintuitive finding seems to suggest that COVID-related stimuli are processed as “acute stressors” rather than negative stimuli, thus inducing a state of increased alertness and responsivity.

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The impact of sensory modality on prospective memory: Differences between visual and auditory processing

Cited by 2 publications

References 49 publications

Thinking about it: The impact of COVID-19 related stimuli on Prospective Memory

Thinking about it: The impact of COVID-19 related stimuli on Prospective Memory

Thinking about it: the impact of COVID-19-related stimuli on prospective memory

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