Studies at University of Notre Dame, University of Geneva, Australian Catholic University, and The University of Queensland tested in older adults a combination technique for preserving the effectiveness of what is called prospective memory: Have the senior verbalize aloud a commitment—“When this happens, this is what I will do”—along with vividly visualizing themselves carrying out the action in that circumstance.
This works best applied to events rather than general times. “When I’m next out shopping at the drug store, I’ll have my blood pressure checked,” produces higher adherence than, “Next Tuesday, I’ll have my blood pressure checked,” with each accompanied by visualization. The difference is probably because it’s easier to vividly visualize the specifics of “shopping at the drug store” than the more amorphous “next Tuesday,” and vivid visualization is integral to the success.
In the studies, the instruction for a verbal commitment was in the format, “Please repeat aloud three times, ‘When [event], I will [action].’” The visualization instruction was in the format, “Please close your eyes and visualize for thirty seconds completing the action. Include as much sensory detail as you can.” Health care professionals and others wanting to increase adherence to a good practice can use these formats.
The researchers say they were somewhat surprised that the commitment plus visualization worked so much better than either alone. The brain becomes more distractible as it ages, so has additional trouble competently doing more than one thing at a time. But in this case, the two activities reinforce each other, therefore do a better job of imprinting the intention. Distractibility applies to incompatible tasks.
Seniors, especially those with serious health challenges, also have trouble imagining events into the distant future. They consider their time as more limited than do younger adults in good health. This indicates that the suggested combo technique for preserving the prospective memory applies most clearly to actions planned to occur during coming weeks. For repeated tasks, such as the one of having the blood pressure checked, building a habit even for the somewhat distant future can start by having the individual start soon, even if it’s not so necessary for now.
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