Free Prospective Memory Test
Evaluate your ability to remember to perform planned actions in the future: appointments, tasks to do, commitments.
Train your memory daily
The COCO, JOE, and EDITH programs offer memory, planning, and organization exercises tailored to each age.
What is prospective memory?
Prospective memory is the ability to remember to perform an action planned for the future. Unlike retrospective memory (remembering the past), it concerns what you need to do: take medication, call someone back, go to an appointment, pass on a message.
Why is it so important?
Daily autonomy
Remembering appointments, commitments, and tasks is essential to remain independent and organized.
Health and safety
Thinking of taking medication, turning off the gas, or locking the door directly involves prospective memory.
Social relationships
Keeping promises, calling someone back, or wishing a birthday strengthens trust and ties with others.
Professional efficiency
Meeting deadlines, not forgetting meetings, and passing on information are key work skills.
The two types of prospective memory
Time-based: Remembering to do something at a specific time (“at 3 PM, call the doctor”). It requires internal time monitoring.
Event-based: Remembering to do something when a cue appears (“when I see Marie, return her book”). It relies on the recognition of the trigger signal.
Factors influencing this memory
- Stress and fatigue reduce necessary attentional resources
- Age can affect this memory, but strategies effectively compensate
- Motivation and the importance of the task play a major role
- Interruptions and multitasking disturb retention of intentions
How to improve your prospective memory?
Use external aids (alarms, post-its, lists), create mental associations between the intention and an environmental cue, and visualize the action to be performed. DYNSEO programs offer exercises that train these mechanisms in a fun way.