Prospective memory in adults with dyslexia

Jamie Smith-Spark, Adam Zięcik, and Chris Sterling

London South Bank University, London, UK

Memory in dyslexia• Memory problems are well documented in dyslexia

– Short-term memory and working memory very well explored (e.g., Jeffries & Everatt, 2004; Jorm, 1983; Menghini, Finzi, Carlesimo, & Vicari, 2011; Palmer, 2000; Smith-Spark, Fisk, Fawcett, & Nicolson, 2003; Smith-Spark & Fisk, 2007; Swanson, 1992, 1999)

– Long-term memory (e.g., McNamara & Wong, 2003; Menghini et al., 2011; Smith-Spark & Moore, 2009)

• But prospective memory underexplored (only Khan, 2014)

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 2

What is prospective memory (PM)?

• “Remembering to remember” (e.g., Mäntylä,1994)• Memory for delayed intentions (Winograd, 1988)

– Delaying the execution of an intended action – Remembering to carry it out at a certain future point

• Two components– Prospective component

• Remembering to perform the intention at the appropriate point in the future

– Retrospective component• Remembering the content of the intention

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 3

The pervasiveness of PM• Mundane activity

– Remembering to post a letter in our bag• Socially

– Pass on a message• At work

– Attending a meeting• Maintaining life itself

– Remembering to take medication

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 4

Types of PM• Two main types

– Event-based (EBPM)• Carrying out an intention in response to a

particular event– e.g., giving a friend a message when you next

see them– Time-based (TBPM)

• Carrying out an intention at a particular time in the future

– e.g., ringing a friend in 30 minutes• Requires more self-initiated mental activities (such

as clock checking)EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 5

The diversity of PM demands• PM can vary in

– The interval between intention formation and intention execution

• e.g., From a few minutes to months– The regularity of the task

• Habitual to a one-off– The type of response that is required

• Verbal or motor action

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 6

Why might PM be a problem for people with dyslexia?

• Augur (1985)– Anecdotal reports of greater absentmindedness

• Smith-Spark (2000)– Diary study looking at slips of action over two week

period– Significantly greater frequency of general

forgetfulness by adults with dyslexia• Smith-Spark, Fawcett, Nicolson, and Fisk (2004)

– Three items on the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (Broadbent et al., 1982) tap PM processes

• Two showed significant group differences, one close to significance

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 7

Why study PM in adults with dyslexia?

• The effects of dyslexia are lifelong• McLoughlin, Fitzgibbon, and Young (1994) argue that

adults with dyslexia are not simply children with dyslexia “grown up” (p. 1)

• Problems with PM are likely to have a much greater impact on adults with dyslexia– Some evidence of self-reported PM problems in

children with dyslexia (Khan, 2014)• Need for provision of workplace support and reasonable

adjustments (e.g., Equality Act, 2010, UK)

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 8

Studies• Study 1: Self-report evidence• Study 2: Clinical task

– Same participants in Studies 1 and 2• Study 3: Semi-naturalistic measure run as part of a

larger study (not reported here)

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 9

Participant matching and validation of groups in all three studies

• Educational psychologists’ reports– Groups matched on

• Age• Short-form IQ

– Based on four WAIS-IV subscales: Vocabulary, Comprehension, Block Design, and Picture Completion (see Turner, 1997)

– Groups differed on measures of • Spelling (WORD spelling test; Wechsler, 1993) • Reading (DAST Nonsense Word Reading

Passage; Fawcett & Nicolson, 1998)EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 10

Participants in Studies 1 & 2 With

dyslexia(N = 30)

Withoutdyslexia(N= 30)

p

Age (years) 24 (4) 24 (5) .953Gender 21F, 9M 24F, 6M -Short-form IQ 110 (10) 108 (9) .534

DAST Nonsense Word Passage

81 (11) 93 (3) < .001

WORD spelling score (max. = 50)

42 (4) 45 (2) < .001

Number of participants with spelling ages ≤ 17 years

14 0 -

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 11

Study 1: The PMQ• Prospective Memory Questionnaire (Hannon et al.,

1995)– Fifty-two items– Four subscales

• Long-term episodic PM• Short-term habitual PM• Self-initiated PM• Techniques to assist memory

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 12

Study 1: PMQ results• Adults with dyslexia

significantly greater self-reported PM problems– Long-term

• p = .003, ηp2 = .143

– Internally-cued• p < .001, ηp

2 = .205– But not Short-term

• p = .051, ηp2 = .06

• And used aids significantly more often too, p = .038, d = .53

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 13

Study 1 Discussion• Self-reported problems with PM in adults with dyslexia• Difficulties across all three types of PM

– Self-initiated and long-term episodic reported to cause significant difficulty

• Short-term Habitual PM non-significant• Errors in PM more prevalent despite self-reported

greater use of tools and strategies to assist remembering

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 14

Study 2• The Memory for Intentions Test (MIST; Raskin et al.,

2010) presents eight PM tasks over 30 minutes• Word search puzzle as the ongoing task• Six scales

• Two-minute delay• Fifteen-minute delay• Time cue• Event cue• Verbal response• Action response

• Retrospective recognition test• Twenty-four hour delayed PM task

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 15

Study 2: MIST results• Lower total score in group with dyslexia

– p = .044, d = .52• No group difference on retrospective questions, p = .310• Significant group effects on two scale pairs

– Two-minute vs. 15-minute delay, p = .036, ηp2 = .074

– Verbal vs. action response, p = .043, ηp2 = .069

• Close to significance on cue type– Time vs. Event cue, p = .053, ηp

2 = .063

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 16

Paired MIST scales• Significant group

interaction for cue type, p = .027, ηp

2 = .082– Groups differ on time

cue, p = .019, d = 0.60• But not event cue, p

= .883• Non-significant

interactions for – Duration of interval, p

= .107– Response type, p =

.570 EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 17

MIST delayed task

• Significant group x response type association– χ2(2, N = 60) =

6.86, p = .032

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 18

Study 2 discussion• Total scores on the MIST lower in group with dyslexia • Scales indicate dyslexia-related problems greatest when

PM involves time cues– Longer intervals also more problematic, although non-

significant• Delayed task indicates PM problems in everyday life

– Not just limited to the laboratory setting• Not simply a problem of not encoding the PM

instructions• Thus, evidence from a well-established clinical measure

that PM is worse in adults with dyslexia

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 19

Study 3• Semi-naturalistic task

– Remind researcher to save data in 40 minutes

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 20

ParticipantsWith

dyslexiaWithoutdyslexia

p

Age (years) 25 (5) 23 (5) .380Gender 18F, 6M 19F, 6M -Short-form IQ 111 (10) 110 (10) .904

DAST Nonsense Word Passage

79 (10) 93 (3) < .001

WORD spelling score (max. = 50)

41 (4) 45 (2) < .001

Number of participants with spelling ages ≤ 17 years

12 0 -

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 21

Results: Semi-naturalistic task

• Significant association between participant group and the type of response made, χ 2(2) = 11.89, p = .003.

• Adults with dyslexia more likely not to respond than to respond– Reverse pattern with

adults without dyslexia

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 22

Study 3 discussion• Problems with TBPM evident on a more naturalistic task

– Over a 40 minute intervening period

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 23

Conclusions• Dyslexia-related PM difficulties found on

– Self-report questionnaires (the PMQ)– A clinical measure (the MIST)– Semi-naturalistic TBPM task

• First studies to document objective PM problems• Prospective memory deficits evident on tasks requiring

self-initiated, time-based performance– Event-based PM not so affected

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 24

Implications• Prospective memory is called upon every day in

personal, social, and working life• Evidence of PM difficulties should be used to inform

workplace support for adults with dyslexia• Risks of increased likelihood of PM failure when task is

time-based or a one-off– If a customary action, then poorer performance not so

likely– Employees with dyslexia and managers need to be

aware of this and take appropriate measures to ensure that the action is performed as intended

• Implications for self-management– Train people with dyslexia from childhood?

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 25

Recommendations• Given their increased susceptibility to PM failure, adults

with dyslexia should use aids and strategies to support their PM wherever possible– Training may be needed to highlight the most

effective ways to use these supports (c.f. Bacon et al., 2013)

• People with dyslexia should try to convert TBPM tasks to EBPM tasks wherever possible– Little difference between adults with and without

dyslexia when PM is environmentally-cued

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 26

Thank youDr Jamie Smith-Spark,Division of Psychology,

School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University,

London, United Kingdom.

Email: smithspj@lsbu.ac.uk

EDA Summer Seminars 2015: Dyslexia and PM 27