Remembering What to Do When the Time Comes: The Effects of Offloading in a Complex Prospective Memory Task

Two experiments examined the effects of cognitive offloading on a complex prospective memory task. Participants underwent a simulated telehealth examination in which they learned about dry eye disease and its treatment. They were asked to email the experimenter at 7:00 p.m., 2 days later, at which point they attempted to recall the medical information about dry eye. Participants in the offload condition were instructed to set a reminder; participants in the internal condition were not. At 7:15 p.m., all participants received an email requesting them to complete the free-recall test, allowing for an assessment of memory performance even when participants failed to email the experimenter. Participants in the offload condition significantly outperformed participants in the internal condition, both in terms of emailing the experimenter on time and in terms of completing the second phase of the experiment at all. No differences were observed regarding performance on the memory test. Results related to rehearsals, metacognitive judgments, and conscientiousness are also reported. Overall, the study provides new insight into how reminders can affect performance on a complex prospective memory task and how reminders may have the potential to be used in medical contexts to optimize patient outcomes.