The 7 Sins of Memory and How to Atone for Them!

Have you ever heard of the classic video game ‘Frogger’? If you haven’t, the object is to get frogs to their homes one by one by avoiding vehicles on a busy road and crossing a river full of hazards. The reason I tell you this is because several years ago I was involved in a real-life game of Frogger. It was a Sunday morning and I was getting in my car to head for the gym when I realized I left something inside. For some reason, I put my wallet on top of my car, went inside and got my stuff, came back out, got in the car and headed to the gym.

A few minutes later I noticed something fly off my roof in my rearview mirror. “Oh <insert appropriate expletive>,” I said to myself as I quickly pulled a U-turn back in the opposite direction.  I then spent the next 5 minutes dodging cars like the frogs in Frogger picking up my wallet and its contents – now littered across the 4-lane road!

My faux pas was a textbook example of absent-mindedness – which is one of the 7 sins of memory that we will discuss today!

Do You Ever Wonder…

…why it is that you sometimes forget the name of someone who’s face is totally familiar to you? Or what it is that makes you look around the house for your phone, keys or wallet?  How about the fact that some experiences that you have vanished from your mind without a trace. Or how about those times that we recall unpleasant or painful experiences that we would just as soon forget.

There is no doubt that memory plays such an omnipresent role in our lives that we sometimes take it for granted, that is until a forgetting incident happens that makes us ‘remember’ how important it is.

Many psychologists and neuroscientists have studied and written on various aspects of memory distortions and forgetting, However, none had come up with a unified framework for understanding how memory can lead us astray until Daniel L. Schacter wrote his great book called The 7 Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers. In the book, he discusses a novel approach to conceptualizing the causes and consequences of the faulty aspects of our memories.

The rest of this blog post will be dedicated to reviewing the 7 sins of memory as well as looking at some actions we may be able to take to avoid, prevent, or diminish these annoying aspects of our memory systems.

The 7 Sins of Memory (and How to Atone for Them!)

As Schacter said:

“I propose that memory’s malfunctions can be divided into seven fundamental transgressions or “sins”, which I call transience, absent-mindedness, blocking, misattributions, suggestibility, bias, and persistence. Just like the seven deadly sins, the memory sins occur frequently in everyday life and can have serious consequences for all of us.” ¹

For each of these 7 sins of memory, Schacter discusses how they occur, how they are supported by theories of mind and memory, and how we can minimize their impact. He also delves into the functions of various parts of the brain and how they affect the processes of memory.

While we cannot get into this stuff in too much detail in a 1,500-word blog post, I will do my best to summarize each of the sins, and then give some actionable ways to overcome them.

(1)  The Sin of Transience

The first sin is called transience and it simply refers to a declining or loss of memory over time. While we are likely to remember something that happened a few hours ago, the odds are that we will be less likely to remember it in a month week, five months, or five years from now.

In a previous post, we discussed the forgetting curve. The forgetting curve was created by Hermann Ebbinghaus over 100 years ago and it basically says that if we have done nothing with the information that we have learned we will have forgotten roughly half of it within an hour, 70% of it within a day and 90% within a week.

How to Atone for This Sin!

There are a couple of ways to atone for this sin:

(i)  Use mnemonics: One of the best ways to help us recall information is to use mnemonics. Mnemonics are structures that make it easier for you to retrieve what you have learned. For example, using an acronym to represent something you want to remember.

(ii)  Use after-action reviews: Many times, our recollection of meetings or events fade over time, to prevent this conduct an after-action review immediately following the event.

(2)  The Sin of Absent-Mindedness

The second of the 7 sins of memory is one that occurs due to a failure at the point that our attention and memory converges – absent-mindedness.  This type of memory error has happened to all of us and includes: misplacing your phone, keys, or wallet, forgetting to pick up milk at the supermarket, or maybe missing a lunch date. Or forgetting your wallet on top of your car! The reason it occurs is that our attention is not focused on what we need to remember due to the fact that we are distracted or preoccupied with something else.

How to Atone for This Sin!

Quit Multitasking: One of the reasons that our attention is not where it is focused on what we need to remember is that we are multitasking. So, focus on one thing at a time!

Use Reminders: However, to ensure our reminders are effective they must pass two criteria which are that they must be informative (tell us what we need to do) and available at the time of retrieval. For example, a great example Schacter gives is “A whistling teakettle, for instance, reminds you of exactly what you need to do at the time you need to do it.” ¹

(3)  The Sin of Blocking

The third sin is known as blocking and it happens when we are prevented from recalling something we are desperately trying to remember. For example, you run into someone and just cannot seem to remember their name. It is there somewhere in your brain and often times it is on the tip of your tongue, but you just can’t summon it.

How to Atone for This Sin!

(i)  Use the alphabet: One suggestion that Schacter gives is “If you don’t spontaneously recall partial phono logical information—the first letter of number of syllables—it may be helpful to run through the alphabet” ¹

(ii)  Wait out the block: Many times, the blocked name or item will come to us, so be patient! Studies have shown that the longer people try to recall a blocked name, the greater the chances are that they will.

(4)  The Sin of Misattribution

Schacter describes misattribution as follows: “The sin of misattribution involves assigning a memory to the wrong source: mistaking fantasy for reality, or incorrectly remembering that a friend told you a bit of trivia that you actually read about in a newspaper. Misattribution is far more common than most people realize, and has potentially profound implications in legal settings.” ¹

 How to Atone for This Sin!

(i)  Take notes: We have a tendency to often times remember stuff that didn’t happen. To counteract this issue, it is a good idea to take diligent notes relating to important events. For example, at work, you may want to take notes at meetings or log important events on a daily basis.

(5)  The Sin of Suggestibility

The next of the 7 sins of memory is related to the previous one and is known as the sin of suggestibility. It occurs when people are trying to recall past experiences and are influenced by leading questions, suggestions or comments. This can be extremely problematic in legal cases as well, including eyewitness misidentification.

How to Atone for This Sin!

(i)  Use Neutral Questions: How we phrase questions of others may lead to false or inaccurate information. Using neutral phrased questions is suggested if you want to get more accurate answers.

(ii)  Cognitive interviews: One method used in eyewitness testimony is the cognitive interview which Schacter describes: “Developed initially in the 1980s by the cognitive psychologists Ronald Fisher and Edward Geiselman, the cognitive interview is based on findings and ideas established in controlled studies of memory, and specifically avoids the use of suggestive or leading questions.” ¹

(6)  The Sin of Bias

The sin of bias demonstrates the strong impact that our present thoughts and beliefs have on how we recall our past. There are times when we modify or completely rewrite our past experiences due to what we currently know and believe and many times this occurs unconsciously and unintentionally.

How to Atone for This Sin!

(i)  Understand the Person’s Perspective: Many of our memories are influenced by our present views, perspectives, and needs. To avoid this sin when dealing with others it is important to understand their current perspective or feelings with respect to the information they are recalling.

(7)  The Sin of Persistence

The last of the 7 sins of memory is when we keep remembering some type of disturbing information or event that we wish we could forget. For example, you wake up in the middle of the night unable to get a painful incident that happened at work or a bad result on an important test out of your head. Or, how about those times where you just can’t get that song out of your head! A more problematic condition within the military is PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder.

How to Atone for This Sin!

Understand the Symptoms: As Col., Scott S. Haraburda of the U.S. Army advised: “By understanding and recognizing the symptoms of PTS, you’ll be in a better position to help make a nonproductive team member suffering from unwanted memories into a productive one. If possible, work with the team member to determine why he or she is unable to contribute to the team, and then try to establish an environment that mitigates the unwanted memory. In extreme cases, the individual may need to seek professional help, and you should be willing to support this help as needed.” ²

 The 7 Sins – Are They Vices or Virtues?

While it may appear from the sins and blunders above that Mother Nature made some extreme blunders by saddling us with such a dysfunctional memory system, Schacter disagrees.

As he says:

“I believe that this view is misguided, it is a mistake to conceive of the seven sins as design flaws that expose memory as a fundamentally defective system. To the contrary, I suggest that the seven sins are byproducts of otherwise adaptive features of memory, a price we pay for processes that serve us well in many respects.” ¹

For example, transience or forgetting stuff over time can be frustrating sometimes but it is also necessary to get rid of information that is no longer current or needed.

Or how about another example, what if…

The Reason I Forgot My Wallet on Top of My Car…

… was due to my being absorbed in thinking about my next great blog post – which eventually went viral!

Sure, it was irritating and dangerous having to dodge cars as I picked up all my stuff off the road due to focusing my attention on other things. But on the other hand, I had a great idea that I might not have otherwise had if I hadn’t forgotten about my wallet.

And Before I Forget…

Thanks for reading and please don’t you FORGET to comment, like, and share this post, and also sign up for our weekly blog post summary if you are one of the few who hasn’t!

Until next time, watch out for the 7 sins of memory and as always…PYMFP!
–Rick

P.S. Wanna know more? Check out the entire book.

Use it or Lose It

The 7 sins of memory and some ways to atone for them are:

(1)  The Sin of Transience: use mnemonics and/or after action reviews.
(2)  The Sin of Absent-Mindedness: quit multitasking and/or use reminders.
(3)  The Sin of Blocking: use the alphabet and/or wait out the block.
(4)  The Sin of Misattribution:  take notes.
(5)  The Sin of Suggestibility: use neutral questions and/or cognitive interviews.
(6)  The Sin of Bias: understand the person’s perspective.
(7)  The Sin of Persistence: understand the symptoms.

When to Use It

Use these tips when you need to overcome the 7 sins of memory.

What Do You Think?

What do you think of the 7 sins of memory? Do you commit some of them more than others? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

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References

1 The 7 Sins of Memory by Daniel L. Schacter

2 https://web.archive.org/web/20150923212902/http://www.dau.mil/pubscats/pubscats/atl/2007_01_02/har_jf06.pdf#