'Sorry I forgot my homework' - An issue with memory or personality?
This podcast reviews a paper with the title ‘Teacher, forgive me, I forgot to do it’ the impact of children’s prospective memory on teachers’ evaluation of academic performance. Prospective memory is, according to Einstein and McDaniel the memory for intentions. It enables us to remember to carry out an action that has been planned for a predefined time in the future, while performing a concurrent activity named ongoing task. One of the interesting things about prospective memory is how others perceive it. If you fail to carry out your intention it is seen as character flaw - so where you forget to hand in book you might be considered forgetful, flaky, or in terms of social skills - like remembering to wish someone happy birthday you might be thought of as indifferent. Can this then affect teachers' perceptions of students and can this in turn inpact academic success? The link to Grace Molloy's podcast on cognitive bias is here. Reference: Basso D, Corradini G, Cottini M. "Teacher, forgive me, I forgot to do it!" The impact of children's prospective memory on teachers' evaluation of academic performance. Br J Educ Psychol. 2023 Mar;93(1):17-32. doi: 10.1111/bjep.12537. Epub 2022 Aug 7. PMID: 35934815; PMCID: PMC10087291.