WHY DIDN’T YOU DO THAT TODAY?: EXPLANATIONS FOR INCOMPLETE INTENDED ACTIVITIES RARELY INCLUDE COGNITION
2024
Reasons for Not Completing Daily Activities
Sample size: 246
publication
Evidence: moderate
Author Information
Author(s): Mogle Jacqueline, Hill Nikki, Harrington Erin, Turner Jennifer, Nicholson Jody, Stawski Robert
Hypothesis
Do age-related differences affect the reasons individuals give for not completing intended activities?
Conclusion
Older adults are more likely to report incomplete intended activities and cite reasons like lack of time, but cognitive explanations are rarely mentioned.
Supporting Evidence
- Participants reported an incomplete intended activity on 49% of days.
- The most common reason for not completing tasks was lack of time (27%).
- Older adults were more likely to report incomplete activities compared to younger adults.
- Reasons involving cognitive processes were reported on only 9% of incomplete activities.
Takeaway
This study looked at why people don't finish their daily tasks, finding that older folks often say they ran out of time, but they don't usually blame their thinking skills.
Methodology
Participants completed evening reports in a 7-day diary study.
Participant Demographics
Community-dwelling adults aged 20-79 years, average age 49.1.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.99
Confidence Interval
1.25-2.37
Statistical Significance
p=0.99
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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