Abstract:

The phenomenon in which an individual repeatedly performs an already completed prospective memory (PM) intention (commission errors), or the completed intention interferes with the performance of the ongoing task are the aftereffects of PM. On the one hand, participants may perform the completed-PM intention erroneously when encountering completed-PM targets. Conversely, participants may not have made commission errors when encountering the completed-PM targets. They may hesitate to respond to them, which would interfere with the ongoing task. The effects on the aftereffects of event-based PM have been explored in terms of PM task characteristics, ongoing task characteristics, and individual traits, but, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have systematically determined the effects of task characteristics and individual traits on the aftereffects of event-based PM. Moreover, previous efforts to organize the cognitive and neural mechanisms of such aftereffects have been inadequate, mostly focusing on one aspect of the formation or deactivation, without discussing the cognitive and neural mechanisms in detail.

Based on the multiple processing theory of PM, a literature review revealed that task characteristics (PM task characteristics, ongoing task characteristics, task context) and individual traits modulate the aftereffects of event-based PM. Combining PM task characteristics, salient and focused cues, and increasing the strength of the cue-intention association promote spontaneous retrieval of completed-PM intentions. On the other hand, semantic cues may promote continuous monitoring of the aforementioned intentions, and both types of cues are susceptible to the aftereffects of event-based PM formation. The similarity of habitual PM tasks and the types of PM cues in the active- and completed-PM phases usually promotes the automatic processing of completed-PM intentions, which is more likely to facilitate the formation of the aftereffects of event-based PM. Regarding ongoing task characteristics, a high ongoing task cognitive load usually occupies more cognitive resources and is susceptible to the formation of the aftereffects of event-based PM. The match between the active- and completed-PM phases of the ongoing task promotes the spontaneous retrieval of completed-PM intentions, leading to the aftereffects of event-based PM. Task context is also related to the aftereffects of event-based PM. Increasing the time delay between the active- and completed-PM phases decreases the activation state of completed intentions and promotes the deactivation of intentional representations. Increasing the task load between the two phases may interfere with the extraction of completed-PM intentions. The cognitive aging associated with aging makes it difficult to deactivate completed-PM intentions and facilitates the formation of the aftereffects of event-based PM. Executive control and output monitoring abilities promote the deactivation of completed-PM intentions. Action-oriented individuals are better at initiating new intentions and suppressing completed-PM intentions, and are more likely to promote the deactivation of the aftereffects of event-based PM.

Theoretical explanations of the processing mechanisms of the aftereffects of event-based PM include automatic, controlled, extraction-inhibition, stop-tag, and dual processing, and a dynamic multiprocess framework. Automatic processing is subdivided into reflexive-associative and discrepancy-plus-search processing, whereas controlled processing can be divided into strategic monitoring and inhibition processing. In the completed phase, individuals repeatedly execute completed-PM intentions, or such intentions interfere with the ongoing task to form the aftereffects of event-based PM. In particular, encountering completed-PM intentions and spontaneously extracting them is more likely to generate commission errors. Continuous monitoring of such intentions during the completed-PM phase leads to extended reaction times to the original PM cues and ongoing tasks, which can interfere with the ongoing tasks. The formation of aftereffects of event-based PM is more closely related to automatic and strategic monitoring processing. In the completed-PM phase, participants are usually told not to execute the original PM response when they encounter the original PM cues. This process involves inhibiting the extraction and execution of completed-PM intentions. Both stop-tag processing, dual processing, and dynamic multiprocess frameworks involve the idea of inhibiting processing. Moreover, to deactivate completed-PM intentions, cognitive resources would be invested in inhibiting them or forming a state of readiness not to execute when such intentions are encountered during the completed-PM phase. This demonstrates that the deactivation of aftereffects of event-based PM is more dependent on inhibitory processing. The processing mechanisms of the aftereffects of event-based PM need to be explored in-depth. Furthermore, future research should increase the investigation of aftereffects of PM in different types as well as natural contexts, and focus on exploring strategies to reduce the aftereffects of PM.

Key words: aftereffects of prospective memory, task characteristics, individual traits, automatic processing, controlled processing