Prospective

Prospective refers to an outlook or plan that is expected or likely to happen in the future. It is often used in various fields such as psychology, medicine, statistics, and research design to describe studies or designs that are set up to look forward.

Definition

In general terms, a prospective outlook or plan is one that is forward-looking, anticipating future events or conditions. This can apply to a wide range of contexts, from individual planning to organizational strategy.

In Psychology

In psychology, the term prospective often refers to prospective memory, which is the aspect of memory that involves remembering to perform a planned action or recall a planned intention at some future point in time. Prospective memory tasks are common in daily life and range from the relatively simple to the complex.

In Medicine

In medicine, a prospective study, also known as a prospective cohort study, is a type of observational study that involves following a group of similar individuals (referred to as the cohort) who differ with respect to certain factors under study, to determine how these factors affect rates of a certain outcome. For example, one might follow a cohort of middle-aged truck drivers who vary in terms of smoking habits to test if there is a link between tobacco use and lung cancer.

In Statistics and Research Design

In statistics and research design, a prospective study is one that looks forward in time to watch for outcomes, such as the development of a disease, during the study period and relates this to other factors such as suspected risk or protection factor(s). The study usually involves taking a cohort of subjects and watching them over a long period.

See Also

• Retrospective
• Cohort study
• Observational study
• Prospective memory

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