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 video- recorded modules (Choi & Johnson, 2005; Salomon, 1984). Judgments of learning • People overestimate learning from video- recorded modules (Choi & Johnson, 2005; Salomon, 1984). Judgments of learning • People overestimate learning from video- recorded 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 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 “How well will you do?” 0 - 100% 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 Final Test Performance 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