Abstract: Some studies have shown that low achieving pupils, especially low achievers in math report more prospective memory (PM) problems than high achievers. To explore how to improve their PM performance, and how target salience and task importance of PM affect PM performance in low achievers in math, the effects of target salience and task importance on PM and prospective memory were compared between low and high achieving pupils in math in the present study. Target salience (PM tasks with salient target vs. PM tasks with non-salient target) was manipulated as a within subject factor, and task importance of PM (importance emphasized vs. no importance emphasized) and achieving group (low vs. high achieving pupils in math) as between subject factors. Furthermore, to examine prospective interference to the ongoing task, every participants completed a set of baseline tasks without PM. The results suggest that high achieving pupils outperformed low achieving pupils in PM tasks. Salient targets improved PM performance. But emphasizing PM importance improved PM accuracy only in non-salient PM condition. According to the results, it is important to help low achievers to establish a salient target for their PM tasks. If the target can’t be salient, then emphasizing the importance of the PM tasks.

Key words: event-based prospective memory, low and high achieving pupils, target salience, task importance, prospective interference effect

摘要： 有问卷调查表明，个体的学业成绩特别是数学成绩与前瞻记忆表现有一定的相关，学业不良生报告更多的前瞻记忆失败。也有实验研究显示，学业不良生在很多情况下前瞻记忆表现劣于学优生。但是，影响学业不良生前瞻记忆表现的因素却并不是很明确。本研究从目标显著性和任务重要性这两个可以着手于改善前瞻记忆的主要因素入手，考察其对数学学业不良生和学优生事件性前瞻记忆和前瞻干扰效应的影响，以期为提高学业不良生的前瞻记忆表现提供实证依据。 采用2学业成就（学业不良生、学优生）×2前瞻记忆任务重要性（强调重要、不强调）×2目标显著性（显著、不显著）混合实验设计，目标显著性为被试内变量，其他两个因素为被试间变量，在双任务实验范式（前瞻记忆任务镶嵌于进行中任务）中，考察三个因素对前瞻记忆正确率和反应时的影响。此外，被试还需完成基线条件，在基线条件下被试只有进行中任务，没有前瞻记忆任务，通过实验条件和基线条件的正确率和反应时差异，考察前瞻记忆任务对进行中任务的干扰效应，推测前瞻记忆的加工机制。结果表明，学业不良生在所有前瞻记忆任务表现均劣于学优生；目标显著性与前瞻记忆任务重要性对前瞻记忆正确率有显著的交互作用，强调任务重要性使目标不显著条件下的前瞻记忆正确率提高，对显著条件的前瞻记忆正确率没有影响。强调任务重要性使所有实验条件的前瞻记忆反应时下降，目标显著使所有实验条件的前瞻记忆正确率提高。所有实验条件进行中任务正确率低于基线条件，反应时也慢于基线条件，表明执行前瞻记忆任务对进行中任务产生了干扰，学业不良生和学优生在本实验条件下对前瞻记忆任务均采用监控的加工方式。结果说明，学业不良生前瞻记忆成绩较差，可以通过设置显著的目标提高其前瞻记忆成绩，当目标显著时无需强调其重要性，若无法设置显著的目标，则通过强调任务重要性提高前瞻记忆表现。

关键词: 事件性前瞻记忆, 学优生和学业不良生, 目标显著性, 任务重要性, 前瞻干扰效应