Prospective memory failure and the metacognitive experienceof blank in the mind

Abstract

Blank in the mind (BIM) is a metacognitive experience denoting that temporarily there is no content in consciousness. The metacognitive experience of BIM occurs in cases of prospective memory failure when the intention that guided one's action (or the cue for the initiation of action) is not maintained in memory. A study is presented in which the hypothesis was that increased working memory load will increase the prospective memory failures and metacognitive experiences such as BIM, tip-of-the-tongue, awareness of omission, and awareness of commission errors. The results suggested that working memory load differentially affected the ratings of metacognitive experiences. Moreover, there was no correlation between BIM and tip-of-the-tongue ratings. The implications of the findings for theories of prospective memory failures and metacognition are discussed. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.