The Seven Sins of Memory: an Update

The Seven Sins of Memory: An Update

Daniel L. Schacter Harvard University Henry Molaison (1926-2008)

New Zealand Herald, June 18, 2009

Two men have had a night in the cells to reflect on the importance of Two men have had a night in the cells to reflect on the importance of planning, after one of them forgot his mask and gun while allegedly attempting an armed hold-up.n while allegedly attempting an armed hold-up. Donald Thomson: A Disturbing Accusation

The Seven Sins of Memory (Schacter, 1999, 2001)

Transience: decreasing accessibility of memory over time

Absentmindedness: lapses of attention; forgetting to do things

Blocking: temporary inaccessibility of stored information

Misattribution: attributing memories to incorrect source; false recognition

Suggestibility: implanted memories

Bias: retrospective distortions produced by current knowledge and beliefs

Persistence: unwanted recollections that people cannot forget The Seven Sins of Memory (Schacter, 1999, 2001)

Transience: decreasing accessibility of memory over time

Absentmindedness: lapses of attention; forgetting to do things

Blocking: temporary inaccessibility of stored information

Misattribution: attributing memories to incorrect source; false recognition

Suggestibility: implanted memories

Bias: retrospective distortions produced by current knowledge and beliefs

Persistence: unwanted recollections that people cannot forget The Seven Sins of Memory (Schacter, 1999, 2001)

Transience: decreasing accessibility of memory over time

Absentmindedness: lapses of attention; forgetting to do things

Blocking: temporary inaccessibility of stored information

Misattribution: attributing memories to incorrect source; false recognition

Suggestibility: implanted memories

Bias: retrospective distortions produced by current knowledge and beliefs

Persistence: unwanted recollections that people cannot forget Wall Street Journal, April 15, 2014

Why We Keep Losing Our Keys Everyday Memory Lapses Hit at Any Age Losing things is irritating, though you think we’d adjust: The average person misplaces up to nine items a day, and one-third of respondents said they spend an average of 15 minutes day searching. Cellphones, keys, and paperwork top the list,according to an online survey of 3,000 people published in 2012 by a British insurance company. Absentminded Memory Errors Often Result from Mind Wandering

Mind wandering occurs when people engage in thoughts that are unrelated to the primary cognitive task at hand (see Smallwood, Psychological Bulletin, 2013) Absentminded Memory Errors Often Result from Mind Wandering

Mind wandering occurs when people engage in thoughts that are unrelated to the primary cognitive task at hand (see Smallwood, Psychological Bulletin, 2013)

Working memory performance is severely impaired when people mind wander during the task (Kane & McVay, Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2012)

Reduced comprehension when mind wandering during reading and poor subsequent memory (Smallwood, McSpadden, & Schooler, Memory & Cognition, 2008)

Mind Wandering Occurs Frequently During Classroom Lectures (for review, see Szpunar, Moulton, & Schacter, Frontiers in Psychology, 2013)

Mind wandering during psychology lectures reported in response to ~33% of direct auditory probes sounded during a lecture; more frequent toward end of lecture (44%) than beginning (25%), and negatively correlated with learning of lecture content (Lindquist & McLean, Learning & Individual Differences, 2011). Is there anything than can be done to reduce mind wandering and increase attention during lectures? The Testing Effect

Testing of memory not only assesses what we know, but changes it (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006).

Many studies show that testing can enhance later performance, even more than additional study.

Some evidence that giving tests after each of several word lists can enhance attention to studied information and increase performance on a final test. When people expect to be tested, and are tested, attention to target material is increased - fewer memory errors on a final test. Can Interpolated Testing Reduce Mind Wandering and Improve Retention of Information from a Lecture? (Szpunar, Khan, & Schacter, PNAS, 2013)

*Used a videotaped, 21 minute statistics lecture.

*Divided lecture into four segments; separated by either brief tests, math problems, or re-study. N=16/group; for tested and re-study groups, 6 items/segment.

*Participants in each condition instructed at the beginning that the lecture would be divided into four segments, that it would be randomly determined whether they were tested after each segment, and that there would be a final test.

*Also told that they could take notes on the lecture and that they would be probed occasionally about whether they were mind wandering during the lecture. Figure 1

B Experiment 2

Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3 Segment 4

Tested Lecture Math Test Lecture Math Test Lecture Math Test Lecture Math Test

Re-Study Lecture Math Re-study Lecture Math Re-study Lecture Math Re-study Lecture Math Test

Non-Tested Lecture Math Math Lecture Math Math Lecture Math Math Lecture Math Test

Mind Wandering Probes

“Are you mind wandering?” “Are you mind wandering?” “Are you mind wandering?” “Are you mind wandering?” YES or NO YES or NO YES or NO YES or NO Figure 2

B Experiment 2

Mind Wandering Notes Correct Responses -

0,5 0,3 4th Segment Notes 0,4 1 w/ 0,2 0,8 0,3 0,6

Probes 0,2 of of

of Slides Slides of 0,1 0,4

0,1 0,2

Prop. Prop. Proportion Correct Proportion 0 Prop. 0 0 T RS NT T RS NT T RS NT Additional findings:

*Significantly higher levels of retention on final test of all four segments (5 min delay) for tested group (86%) than re- study group (66%) or nontested group (72%).

*Participants in tested group reported feeling less anxious about final test than participants in the other two groups.

*Participants in tested group rated their experience of learning the lecture as less cognitively demanding than participants in the other two groups. Judgments of learning

• People overestimate learning from videorecorded modules (Choi & Johnson, 2005; Salomon, 1984). Judgments of learning

• People overestimate learning from videorecorded modules (Choi & Johnson, 2005; Salomon, 1984). • Interpolated tests should provide feedback necessary to calibrate predictions. Judgments of learning

Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3 Segment 4

Tested Lecture Math Test Lecture Math Test Lecture Math Test Lecture Math Test

Non-tested Lecture Math Math Lecture Math Math Lecture Math Math Lecture Math Math Judgments of learning

5 m F i Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3 Segment 4 I n N Tested Lecture Math Test Lecture Math Test Lecture Math Test Lecture Math Test u A t L Non-tested Lecture Math Math Lecture Math Math Lecture Math Math Lecture Math Math e T b E r S e T a k Judgments of learning

Szpunar, Jing, & Schacter (2014) JARMAC Final Test Performance

75% 48%

Szpunar, Jing, & Schacter (2014) JARMAC Final Test Performance

77% 75% 78% 48%

Szpunar, Jing, & Schacter (2014) JARMAC Mind Wandering, Interpolated Testing, and Lecture Learning: Summary

Study 1: Interpolating brief quizzes in a videorecorded lecture reduced task-irrelevant mind wandering, increased task-relevant behaviors such as note taking, and improved retention.

Study 2: Interpolating brief quizzes improved calibration between judgments of learning and actual learning. The Seven Sins of Memory (Schacter, 1999, 2001)

Transience: decreasing accessibility of memory over time

Absentmindedness: lapses of attention; forgetting to do things

Blocking: temporary inaccessibility of stored information

Misattribution: attributing memories to incorrect source; false recognition

Suggestibility: implanted memories

Bias: retrospective distortions produced by current knowledge and beliefs

Persistence: unwanted recollections that people cannot forget Eyewitness Misidentification and Wrongful Conviction: DNA Evidence

www.innocenceproject.org

Results extend to over 250 cases (B.L. Garrett, Convicting the Innocent, 2011) False Recognition of Semantic Associates (Deese, 1959; Roediger & McDermott, 1995) • Participants study semantic associates that all converge on a non-presented theme word: candy, sour, sugar, bitter, good, taste, tooth, nice, honey, soda, chocolate, heart, cake, eat, pie

• Tested with words from the study list (taste), unrelated words that were not presented (point), and associative related theme word or critical lure (sweet).

• Extremely high levels of false alarms to theme word, accompanied by high confidence True and False Recognition

1 Young 0.8 Old

0.6

0.4

0.2

Proportion Old Responses Old Proportion 0 True Target False Target

Norman & Schacter, 1997 Neuroimaging of True vs. False Memories Schacter et al. (Neuron, 1996; see also Cabeza et al., PNAS, 2001 ) True Recognition > False Recognition

Abe N et al. Cereb. Cortex 2008;18:2811-2819 True and False Recognition of Visual Shapes (Slotnick & Schacter, Nature Neuroscience, 2004) .Subjects study 16 sets of 9 exemplars of a prototype.

.Old/new recognition test including old, related new, and unrelated new

Nonstudied Prototype Exemplar Exemplar True and False Recognition

Prefrontal Hippocampus BA 39/40 (BA45/46/47, 0.2 BA8/9)

% Signal Signal % change 0.1 0 -0.1 True recognition 0 4 8 12 16 Time (sec) Old-hits Related-FAs Parietal New-CRs (BA7/39/40) False recognition

Slotnick & Schacter (2004, Nature Neuroscience) True recognition > False recognition Ventral View

Left fusiform gyrus (BA18) 0.3 0.2 0.1 Early visual regions 0 (BA17, BA18) -0.1 -0.2 % Signal change Signal % -0.3 0 4 8 12 16 Time (sec) Old-hits Related-false alarms LH

Old-hits > Related-false alarms X Related-false alarms > Old-hits Nature Neuroscience, February 2013 Neuroimaging of True/False Memory: Issues Related to Legal Application

-Relation of lab results to real-world memories: Short delay between encoding & retrieval in the lab; typically much longer delays in legal cases.

-Target populations: Lab studies of true vs.false memories have typically used undergraduate participants; more diverse populations encountered in the courtroom.

-Averaging: Groups vs. individuals; collections of items/events vs. particular items/events.

-Countermeasures: Can strategies be used to ‘beat’ the test? Memory Reactivation and Misattribution Memory Reactivation and Misattribution

*Reactivating a memory for a past experience can affect subsequent memory for that experience

*Reactivation can increase subsequent memory, e.g., the testing effect

*But reactivation can also bring a memory into a labile state where it is prone to disruption and possible distortion: reconsolidation (for review, see Hardt et al., 2010, Annual Review of Psychology)

*Little known about how varying properties of reactivation affects true or false memories. St. Jacques & Schacter (2013, Psychological Science) investigated the issue using a novel real-world memory paradigm Participants went on guided tours of exhibits in adjoining Harvard Museum of Natural History and Peabody Museum.

Tour guided them to view some items in each exhibit (total=32), and not others.

During the tour, participants wore a Vicon revue camera, which takes photos every 15 seconds. Participants went on guided tours of exhibits in adjoining Harvard Museum of Natural History and Peabody Museum.

Tour guided them to view some items in each exhibit (total=32), and not others.

During the tour, participants wore a Vicon revue camera, which takes photos every 15 seconds.

*48 hours after tour, participants came to Memory Lab for reactivation session, in which they viewed an ‘event movie’ consisting of photos of exhibit items they had seen on the tour, and made a judgment about the relatedness of an item from the same exhibit that they had not seen.

*Properties of reactivation were manipulated.

*48 hours after reactivation, participants were given a recognition test that included items from the tour, reactivation session, and novel baseline items. Manipulating Reactivation Memory Reactivation: Results NEURAL CORRELATES OF AM

LateralRETRIEVAL Prefrontal Posterior Parietal Cortex (PFC) Cortex

Retrosplenial Cortex

Medial Temporal Lobe Medial Prefrontal (hippocampus & parahippocampus) Cortex (PFC)

St. Jacques , Kragel & Rubin (2011). Neuroimage; Cabeza & St. Jacques (2007). Trends in Cognitive Sciences. NEURAL CORRELATES OF AM

Lateral Prefrontal Posterior Parietal RETRIEVAL Cortex (PFC) Cortex

Retrosplenial Cortex

Medial Temporal Lobe Medial Prefrontal (hippocampus & parahippocampus) Cortex (PFC)

 Parahippocampal, Retrosplenial & Posterior Parietal Cortices:Recollection/ Reactivation Quality (e.g., Ranganath & Ritchey, 2012, Nature Reviews Neuroscience)

St. Jacques , Kragel & Rubin (2011). Neuroimage; Cabeza & St. Jacques (2007). Trends in Cognitive Sciences. FMRI PREDICTIONS

1. Reactivation-related effects on subsequent True Memory and False Memory supported by brain regions associated with recollection:  Parahippocampal, Retrosplenial Cortex & Posterior Parietal Cortex Brain Activity in AM Regions During Reactivation Session Predicts Subsequent True and False Memories

St. Jacques, Olm & Schacter (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013) Conclusions 1. Quality of reactivation modulates subsequent memory effects.

2. Reactivation-related enhancement and distortion is associated with neural recruitment in regions sensitive to the quality of reactivation. Are the Seven Sins Really “Sins”? (Schacter, 1999, 2001)

Transience: decreasing accessibility of memory over time

Absentmindedness: lapses of attention; forgetting to do things

Blocking: temporary inaccessibility of stored information

Misattribution: attributing memories to incorrect source; false recognition

Suggestibility: implanted memories

Bias: retrospective distortions produced by current knowledge and beliefs

Persistence: unwanted recollections that people cannot forget Misattribution: An Adaptive Sin?

1999/2001 view: Many misattributions occur because we typically don’t need to remember every detail of every experience. Sometimes we’re better off remembering the gist, which can promote retention of meaning and general themes of experience, but sets the stage for misattribution errors.

More recent developments: New evidence for an adaptive view of misattribution - e.g., in the museum paradigm, false recognition may reflect updating of memory (see also Loftus on the misinformation effect). Schacter, Guerin, & St. Jacques(2011). Trends in Cognitive Sciences A new hypothesis: Episodic memory - traditionally defined as the ability to recollect our past experiences - is important for the future as well as the past. We use episodic memory to imagine possible future scenarios, and this constructive activity requires flexible access to elements of past experience that may sometimes produce misattributions and related memory distortions (Schacter & Addis, 2007, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society; Schacter, 2012, American Psychologist) Are the Seven Sins Really “Sins”? (Schacter, 1999, 2001)

Transience: decreasing accessibility of memory over time

Absentmindedness: lapses of attention; forgetting to do things

Blocking: temporary inaccessibility of stored information

Misattribution: attributing memories to incorrect source; false recognition

Suggestibility: implanted memories

Bias: retrospective distortions produced by current knowledge and beliefs

Persistence: unwanted recollections that people cannot forget Acknowledgements

Memory Lab & Collaborators

Helen Jing Taiga Abe Roland Benoit Anne Crosby Kevin Madore Zoe Galindo Haley Dodds Alexis Gomez David Maillet Stella Tu Peggy St. Jacques Scott Guerin Karl Szpunar Scott Slotnick Alexis Carpenter Sam Moulton Dahua Wang

Supported by NIH and Harvard Initiative in Learning & Teaching (HILT)