台大心理系

Our ability to execute delayed intentions plays a key role in enabling coherent goal-directed behaviour, e.g. remembering to pass on a message when we see a particular person or to take medication at the correct time. In everyday life, we often use external reminders (e.g. calendars, smartphone alerts) to prompt delayed intentions rather than relying on internal representations alone. Recent studies have begun to investigate this process, known as intention offloading. One key aim of these studies is to characterise the neurocognitive processes that trigger intention offloading. Evidence points to an important role of metacognition: individuals decide whether or not to set external reminders based on a metacognitive evaluation of their own memory abilities, which may or may not reflect the objective need for external support. In this talk I will review recent methodological developments that allow intention offloading to be studied experimentally and linked to theoretical frameworks for understanding metacognitive processes. I will discuss behavioural evidence examining the developmental origins of intention offloading and demonstrating atypical intention offloading in individuals with autism spectrum conditions. I will also discuss evidence from fMRI examining the influence of intention offloading on brain activity. These studies can provide insight into to the processes that lead to intentions being fulfilled in everyday life. They can also help to clarify the relationship between metacognition, strategy selection, memory, and cognitive control.