Increasing Extrinsic Motivation Improves Time-Based Prospective Memory in Adults with Autism: Relations with Executive Functioning and Mentalizing.
Julia Landsiedel, David M Williams
PMID 31865493WHAT IT FOUND
Telling adults with autism that a time-based memory task was more important than the main activity significantly improved their performance.
This happened because they checked the clock more often, not because they ignored the main task.
Key findings
01Participants with ASD performed significantly better on the prospective memory task when told it was more important than the ongoing task.
02The improvement was linked to increased time-checking behaviour in the ASD group.
03The ASD group's performance in the high-importance condition was comparable to the control group's performance in the low-importance condition.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study used a laboratory computer task, so it is unclear if these results transfer to real-world scenarios like remembering to take medication. The control group performed near ceiling in the high-importance condition, making it difficult to definitively compare the magnitude of improvement between groups. The sample size was relatively small (25 in the ASD group).
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this intervention works for neurotypical individuals or that it improves general memory. The benefit was specific to adults with ASD in a controlled setting where the task was explicitly framed as more important, and the control group showed no significant gain because they were already performing at a high level.