Paul B. Baltes Lecture 2025: Matthias Kliegel (Geneva)
Open to all. No registration required!
Abstract:
"Oh no! I forgot to …" – this familiar experience captures a fundamental challenge of human cognition: remembering to carry out intended actions in everyday life. The talk will present recent advancements in research on the lifespan development of prospective memory and its pivotal role in autonomy and independence across the lifespan. Evidence suggests that prospective memory failures are not trivial slips, but rather key determinants of both the rise and the decline of functional independence from childhood to old age.
Even with the proliferation of sophisticated technologies and AI-based reminder systems, everyday memory failures remain pervasive. The talk will highlight the importance of examining the interplay between episodic memory, cognitive control, and metacognition to understand why both memory and external reminders often fail and how they can be trained. Metacognitive monitoring and control will be emphasized as central mechanisms in this process.
In addition, novel paradigms for assessing cognition outside of the laboratory will be introduced, linking real-life prospective memory performance to sensor-based behavioral and health data. The presentation will integrate new empirical findings and outline a conceptual lifespan account demonstrating key neurocognitive targets for understanding prospective memory development and lifespan development of everyday cognition in general.
Location: Leibniz-Saal, Berlin-Brandenburgischen Akademie der Wissenschaften e.V., Jägerstraße 22-23, 10117 Berlin (Entrance: Markgrafenstraße 38)
The annual Paul B. Baltes Lecture was initiated to commemorate Paul B. Baltes’ achievements for psychological research and his contributions to psychology. The lecture series is hosted by the Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin and the University of Potsdam in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, and is supported by the Margret M. and Paul B. Baltes Foundation and the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften.
We look forward to welcoming you at the lecture which will be followed by a small reception.
On behalf of the Paul B. Baltes lecture initiative group and with kind regards,
Ulman Lindenberger
Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung
Max Planck Institute for Human Development
Lentzeallee 94
D-14195 Berlin
___
Sandra Schmidt
Sekretariat Prof. Dr. Ulman Lindenberger
Tel. +49-30-82406-572
Fax: +49-30-82406-571
Email: seklindenberger@mpib-berlin.mpg.de
www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de
