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Distributed Prospective Memory
Distributed Prospective Memory, also sometimes referred to as intention offloading, is a conceptual framework for understanding an aspect of cognitive psychology. Distributed prospective memory combines Distributed Cognition and delayed intentional Prospective Memory. Distributed prospective memory focuses on the use of external sources of cognitive support, such as note-taking, to increase the reliability of an individual's memory. The purpose of utilizing distributed prospective memory is to increase accuracy or memory while reducing cognitive load.

Memory
Memory is generally divided into two categories, retrospective memory (the ability to remember things which have already happened) and prospective memory (the ability to remember a planned action in the future).

Prospective Memory
Prospective memory is the process wherein an individual correctly remembers something they wanted to do in the future, also referred to as delayed intention. Some common examples of prospective memory are remembering what items to buy while out at the shop or remembering to take medication with dinner. Prospective memory requires several steps. Step one is the encoding stage, wherein the brain sets the intention to follow through on a task at a later time. During the encoding stage, a cue is selected for the brain to know when to follow through on the task. This cue may either be time based, for instance, tomorrow or at noon; or the cue may be event-based, such as with breakfast or when you leave for work. The next step is the interval between setting the intention and performing the intended action The last step is the execution of the intended action. If there are many things to remember or there is a significant interval between encoding and performing the delayed action, there is a greater risk of forgetting the delayed intention.

It is believed that prospective memory is a more complex cognitive process than retrospective memory, as it combines retrospective memory (remembering the original delayed intention) with executive functions required to interrupt the current activities and switch tasks to the delayed intention. Prospective memory is frequently studied in laboratories. However, one problem with laboratory studies is that they seldom allow participants to use reminders. In everyday life use of reminders is common. The inability of many studies to consider the use of reminders significantly reduces their ecological validity. Results reported under laboratory conditions may not reflect accurately on the lived experiences of people.

When reminders are not utilized to aid prospective memory, sometimes a process called monitoring occurs. Monitoring is when a person consciously and actively remembers that a task needs to be done. Monitoring is a cognitively demanding process and requires significant anterior prefrontal cortex involvement. Although monitoring is a successful way to ensure accurate prospective memory, the relatively high cognitive resource demands make it an inefficient method. The longer the interval between initial encoding of the intention and execution of the task, the more cognitive resources that would be needed in the use of monitoring. Spontaneous retrieval of delayed intentions has also been studied. Spontaneous retrieval appears to require a strong environmental cue to have occurred at time of encoding and appears to be produced in the ventral parietal lobe, posterior cingulate, and hippocampal areas of the brain. It is therefore important to understand ways to support prospective memory in order to better support individuals who have any impairment to these areas including Alzheimer's Disease, types of Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Traumatic Brain Injuries including strokes.

Distributed Cognition
Distributed cognition refers to any situation wherein processes which had previously been occurring completely within the mind are partly taking place outside of the mind. One excellent example of distributed cognition involves solving a math problem. In order to solve the math problem you can solve it completely inside your head, or you can write it out on paper and solve it by hand, or you can put the problem into your calculator and have it solve the math problem for you. Solving a math problem on paper or with a calculator are both examples of distributed cognition. There are many ways to distribute cognition.

Cognitive Offloading
The process wherein information is taken from a purely cognitive space to an external space, such as note taking, is called Cognitive Offloading. It is theorized that by freeing up cognitive resources through cognitive offloading, the brain has more resources to perform more complex or sophisticated mental processes. One area known to have high cognitive resource demands is memory. The theorized reduction in cognitive demand when utilizing cognitive offloading may account for the results found by Camp, et al. (2014) in their study of Individuals with Alzheimer's Disease. It was shown that when the individuals with impaired memories utilized a cognitive offloading technique, note-taking, they were better able to use their prospective memory.

Metacognition
It is believed that both metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive control would be needed to fully utilize distributed prospective memory. Metacognitive knowledge, the knowledge of one's own mental skills and abilities, is needed to understand that a cognitive offload would be beneficial. Evidence of this metacognitive knowledge can be seen in studies where participants' confidence in their own abilities was taken into consideration. When participants reported lower confidence in their abilities to remember a future task, they were more inclined to use a cognitive offloading tool, such as creating a reminder note. While metacognitive control, the ability to act upon one's assessment of their mental skills and abilities, is needed to put the cognitive offload into practice.

Methods
Use of external reminders is commonplace. Examples include calendars, to-do lists, smartphone alerts, reminder apps, and many others. External memory aids can improve prospective memory, even in individuals who have impaired memories. However, it appears that the memory aids are only of value to those who have impaired memories, if they utilize skills that are not impaired. Memory aids such as to-do lists have a weakness in that they need to be remembered to be used/checked. There also appears to be significant differences in the effectiveness of different kinds of lists and reminders, suggesting that more research in this area would be warranted. Combining analog (writing to-do lists) with digital (alarms) showed better results than using only an analog system. Digital calendar systems were found to be very effective at assisting prospective memory impaired participants in several studies. One significant issue facing any who utilize distributed prospective memory is that the location where the delayed intention has been offloaded to can be lost. Research indicates that to be most effective as a tool for distributed prospective memory, the method needs to have an alert associated with it, be portable, have a clear display, and be easy to use/learn. If the device is wholly electronic, such as a smart phone app, it needs to have a clear display, few notifications or prompts, and be easy to use/learn.

It has been proposed that the creation of routines or habits for recurring delayed intentions is a method of distributing prospective memory. Creating a routine which occurs every night at bed time wherein an individual takes their medication, would reduce cognitive load by offloading the cognitive resources to the external entity, the routine. By creating a routine which included a to-do list the shortcoming of forgetting to check the to-do list can be reduced.

Research
Research into distributed prospective memory is important because remembering delayed intentions is key in living independently, and performing key aspects of many careers. As memory becomes unreliable, for instance with Alzheimer's Disease, remembering to take medication, for instance, can be compromised. Research into distributed prospective memory is also important for groups which have been shown in laboratory studies to have poorer prospective memory, such as individuals with dyslexia and ASD. Labratory studies into prospective memory have found that memory reliability of delayed intentions declines with age. However, in naturalistic or real-world environments this age-related difference disappears which may be explained through the use of distributed prospective memory by the participants in these studies.

Another group studied to see how they utilized distributed prospective memory is intensive care nurses, who represent an extreme example of task complexity with interruptions and frequent need for delayed intentions to be followed through or there may be grave consequences.

Limitations to the Research
Much of the research into prospective memory has previously taken place in laboratories and these studies seldom allowed for use of memory aids such as notes. When studies were taken into the field, the participant pool sizes are often small which can inflate the effect sizes.