The Subjective Memory Questionnaire (SMQ). An investigation into the self‐reporting of ‘real‐life’ memory skills

Abstract

It was noted that there may sometimes be quite marked discrepancies between patients' performances on standard laboratory or clinical tests of memory and how these patients actually perform in day‐to‐day real life. In order to help assess real‐life memory abilities a 43‐item questionnaire was constructed and standardized on a total of 141 subjects. The Subjective Memory Questionnaire (SMQ) was reasonably reliable, but its completion was influenced by at least two biases that were described — one producing a sex difference and the other shifting item means. The SMQ had a fragmented, multidimensional structure which, except for the first factor, was not possible to interpret psychologically. Performance on the SMQ was correlated with performance on typical clinical memory tests to find a weak positive relationship. The strength of this relationship was distinctly greater if subjective and objective measures were trying to assess the same ability, e.g. remembering people's names. Further papers in this series will explore the clinical and academic implications of assessing real‐life memory skills, which may differ from those skills utilized in laboratory settings.