B - 78 Virtual Reality Versus Analog Performance and the Age-Related Paradox of Prospective Memory.

While PM performance was higher on the analog task for both age groups, performance on the VR task decreased similarly for younger and older adults. The life-like distractors in VR appeared to impact both age cohorts equivalently, suggesting that VR assessment is equally valid with older adults as it is with younger adults. Although the VR setting was selected to imitate real life, the environment details did not appear specific enough to replicate the boost found in older adults' PM in naturalistic environments. Future research on PM should model VR tasks after individuals' home environments to tap into the over-learned habits utilized in individuals' everyday lives.