The impact of process- versus outcome-focused episodic future thinking on everyday prospective memory in individuals with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

IF 2.3 3区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, APPLIED

Journal of Experimental Psychology-Applied Pub Date : 2026-07-20 DOI:10.1037/xap0000586

Steven Stelz, Marc-Andreas Edel, Mareike Altgassen

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Prospective memory (PM) deficits are common in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and are often linked to impairments in executive control. Strengthening encoding during intention formation may therefore serve as a compensatory strategy. The present study examined whether episodic future thinking (EFT) with different instructional foci (process-focused vs. outcome-focused) enhances the execution of everyday self-assigned PM intentions in adults with and without ADHD, relative to a standard encoding condition. A total of 196 adults (98 ADHD, 98 controls) were recruited in Autumn 2025 and randomly assigned to one of three encoding conditions, yielding six experimental groups (outcome-focused: n = 34 per group; process-focused: n = 32 per group; standard: n = 32 per group). PM performance was assessed using a modified version of the diary task across three online sessions. Overall, individuals with ADHD showed lower everyday PM performance. Across groups, EFT-based encoding improved PM performance relative to standard encoding. Contrary to predictions, outcome-focused EFT led to the strongest PM enhancement, while process-focused EFT yielded moderate benefits only for adults with ADHD. These findings provide first evidence that manipulating EFT focus during intention formation can enhance everyday PM in adults with ADHD, underscoring EFT as a practical strategy for improving daily functioning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

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以过程为中心与以结果为中心的情景未来思维对有或没有注意缺陷/多动障碍（ADHD）个体的日常前瞻记忆的影响

前瞻记忆（PM）缺陷在患有注意力缺陷/多动障碍（ADHD）的成年人中很常见，并且通常与执行控制障碍有关。因此，在意向形成过程中加强编码可以作为一种补偿策略。本研究考察了与标准编码条件相比，具有不同教学重点（以过程为中心与以结果为中心）的情景未来思维（EFT）是否能增强有或无ADHD成人日常自我分配的PM意图的执行。在2025年秋季，共招募了196名成年人（98名多动症患者，98名对照组），并随机分配到三种编码条件之一，产生六个实验组（结果为重点：每组n = 34人；过程为重点：每组n = 32人；标准：每组n = 32人）。PM的表现是在三个在线会话中使用修改版本的日记任务来评估的。总体而言，ADHD患者的日常PM表现较低。在各个组中，基于eft的编码相对于标准编码提高了PM的性能。与预测相反，以结果为中心的EFT导致最强的PM增强，而以过程为中心的EFT仅对患有ADHD的成年人产生中等程度的益处。这些发现提供了第一个证据，证明在意向形成过程中操纵EFT焦点可以增强ADHD成人的日常PM，强调EFT是改善日常功能的实用策略。（PsycInfo数据库记录(c) 2026 APA，版权所有）。

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来源期刊

Journal of Experimental Psychology-Applied PSYCHOLOGY, APPLIED-

CiteScore

4.90

自引率

3.80%

发文量

110

期刊介绍： The mission of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied® is to publish original empirical investigations in experimental psychology that bridge practically oriented problems and psychological theory. The journal also publishes research aimed at developing and testing of models of cognitive processing or behavior in applied situations, including laboratory and field settings. Occasionally, review articles are considered for publication if they contribute significantly to important topics within applied experimental psychology. Areas of interest include applications of perception, attention, memory, decision making, reasoning, information processing, problem solving, learning, and skill acquisition.