Semantic and episodic predictions of memory for plans

This study was conducted to investigate the planning process within memory for plans. Experiment 1 examined the effect of self-involvement on memory for a 1-day plan, in which approximately half of the 104 undergraduate participants were instructed to assume that the plans were their own while the other half were told only to memorize them. A U-shaped curve, indicating better recall for morning and evening plans than for afternoon ones, was observed only with the first group. Experiment 2 was designed to further clarify the planning strategies of memory for plans, in which approximately half of the 77 undergraduate participants were asked to imagine executing the plans while the other half were given a more limited strategy. U-shaped curves were observed in both conditions, with memory performance being higher for the first group. These results are interpreted as indicating that the semantic prediction of future plans conforms to a U-shaped curve, while the episodic prediction of future plans enhances memory performance.