The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers

283 Pages·2001·3.8 MB·English

by  Daniel L. Schacter

H OVio tht Ind FOf9tlS nd R,mtm tr
The Seven Sins
of
Memory
HOW THE MIND FORGETS
AND REMEMBERS
DANIEL L. SCHACTER
H 0 ugh ton M i ffl inC 0 m pan y
BOSTON NEW YORK 2001
Copyright © 2.001 by Daniel L. Schacter
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this
book, write to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Company,
:1.15 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003.
Visit our Web site: www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schacter, Daniel L.
The seven sins of memory: how the mind forgets and
remembers I Daniel L. Schacter.
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-618-04019-6
I. Memory disorders. 2. Memory. 3. Recollection
(Psychology) I. Title.
BF376 .S34 2001
153.1'2 dC21
Book design by Anne Chalmers
Typefaces: Minion, Scala Sans, and Type Embellishments
Printed in the United States of America
Excerpl from Almost No Memory by Lydia Davis. Copyright © 1997 by Lydia Davis. Reprinted by permission of Farrar,
Slraus and Giroux, LLC.
"The Way We Were," Words by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Music by Marvin Hamlisch, © 1973 Colgems·EMI Musk, Inc,
All Righls Reserved, Inlernalional Copyright Secured, Used by Permission.
"I Remember II Well" by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, © 1957 (Renewed) Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe,
Chappell & Co. owner of publicalion and allied rights throughout the World, All IUghls Reserved, Used by Permission,
Warner Bros. Publications U.S. Inc .. Miami, FL 33014.
1.1, and 1.2: Brain, Mind .nd Behavior, Second Edition by Floyd E. Bloom and Arlyne L.zerson © 1<;88 by W, H-
and Company, Used with permission,
Figure 4." Reproduced from Figure I (I" 162) in Mark Tippens Reinitz, Joseph MorriSsey, and Jonath.n Demb, "Role of
attention in face mcoding,n Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning. Memory, and Cognition. 1994~ 10, 161-168. Copyw
rjght Arnerkan Psycbological Association.
For my family:
SUSAN, HANNAH, AND EMILY

Contents
Acknowledgments i:x
I ntrod uction:
A Blessing Bestowed by the Gods
1. The Sin of Transience 12
2. The Sin of Absent-mindedness 41
3. The Sin of Blocking 61
4. The Sin 0 f Mis at t rib uti 0 n 88
5. The Sin of Suggestibility 112
6. The Sin of Bias 138
7. The Sin of Persistence 161
8. The Seven Sins: Vices or Virtues? 184
Notes 207
Bibliography 230
Index 259

Ack n owl ed gm e n ts
It sometimes seems unfair that a book bears only an author's name, be
cause a number of people are responsible, directly or indirectly, for its con
ception, development, and production. This book is no exception. I've had
the good fortune to consult with many colleagues and students about the
topics in these pages - too many to thank individually. I hope that you
know who you are, and realize that I greatly value your input. I am espe
cially thankful to the members of my laboratory during the past few years;
your feedback and ideas have been invaluable for this book and all of my
other scientific endeavors.
I owe a special debt to those who have taken the time to read and com
ment on the manuscript. Moshe Bar, Chad Dodson, Marc Hauser, Lael
Schooler, David Sherry, and Gabriella Vigliocco provided incisive feedback
on specific chapters which helped me to rethink some important issues and
saved me from a variety of oversights and errors. Randy Buckner, Wilma
Koutstaal, Richard McNally, and Anthony Wagner read the entire manu
script, coming up with many helpful suggestions and constructive criti
cisms that have improved the final product considerably. Several of my re
search assistants - Steve Prince, Carrie Racine, and Danielle Unger
have helped me in ways too numerous to list; I want them to know how
much I value their time and effort.
Laura van Dam, my editor at Houghton Mifflin, supported the book
enthusiastically and provided insightful comments on several drafts of the
evolving manuscript. Her keen eye for both style and substance helped me
to improve the final product immensely. My agent, Susan Rabiner, lent her
wisdom and energy to this project, and I appreciate both.
I began The Seven Sins of Memory during a sabbatical year that was
supported by a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship and an
award from the James McKeen Cattell Fund; without them, I could not
x Acknowledgments
have completed it. I spent several months of my sabbatical at the Institute
for Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, where I wrote
parts of the book. I am indebted to Professor Tim Shallice for making my
stay possible, and to colleagues and staff at the Institute for making my visit
both enjoyable and productive. I am also thankful to the funding agencies
that have supported my ongoing research: Human Frontiers Science Pro
gram, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Mental Health, and
National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke. I describe sig
nificant portions of the work they have supported in these pages.
Finally, lowe so much to my wife, Susan McGlynn, and my daughters,
Hannah and Emily Schacter, that I hardly know how to begin to say thanks.
As a start, I dedicate this book to them.
THE SEVEN SINS
OF MEMORY