The effect of context in a focal prospective memory task

Prospective memory, or remembering to perform an action in the future, can benefit from information about one's current location relative to a location where the PM task can be performed. The current study extends prior work, which used a non-focal PM task, by investigating the effect of context using a focal PM task. A focal prospective memory task is one in which processing demands of the PM task overlap with processing demands of other ongoing activities. The results of the current study suggest that providing contextual support reduces the processing demands of the prospective memory task relative to the same focal prospective memory task performed without contextual support.