Metamemory for Prospective Memory Performance in Younger and Older Adults: Does the Reference Point Affect our Judgments?

In two preregistered online experiments, we explored age differences in prospective memory (PM) performance estimates, particularly focusing on how different reference points affect metacognitive accuracy. Younger and older participants completed an event-based PM task embedded in an ongoing task. Metacognition was assessed by asking participants to predict their performance before the PM task and by having them complete questionnaires about everyday memory abilities.In Experiment 1, we manipulated the reference point used to evaluate performance (performance vs. peers) and the order of presentation of the PM task and the metamemory questionnaires. In Experiment 2, we included a control condition, assessed both prospective and retrospective metacognitive judgments, and examined how subjective age influenced metacognitive judgments.In terms of results, participants tended to be overconfident when comparing their performance to their peers, indicating that reference points affect metacognitive accuracy. Retrospective metacognitive judgements were more accurate than predictions, and there was a link between subjective age and metacognitive bias in older adults. Additionally, older adults reported better PM abilities than younger adults, and participants generally reported more memory failures when the metamemory questionnaires were completed after the PM task.Overall, these findings indicate that both younger and older adults have limited metacognitive insights and show the reactive effects of metacognition to different reference points and the order of instrument administration.