Toward an Ecological Approach to Prospective Memory? The Impact of Neisser’s Seminal Talk on Prospective Memory Research

Prospective memory is important because it enables a person to lead an autonomous life by remembering duties, chores, and appointments. Examples such as remembering to pick up the kids at daycare on the way home from work, meet your doctor to check the blood pressure tomorrow at 2 o’clock, or remembering to take your anticoagulants are some of the typical examples. In his seminal talk entitled “Memory: What are the important questions?” Neisser (1978) harshly criticized mainstream memory psychology because its lack of ecological validity. Neisser outlined some ecologically important questions that have resulted in a substantial research interest in the meantime. Amongst other areas such as involuntary memories, childhood memories, the function of memory for self-improvement, and eyewitness memory, Neisser emphasized that “memory is also involved in many activities of daily life. We make a plan and have to remember to carry it out.” This kind of memory has become a focus of memory research under the label “prospective memory".