Download Press Release for The Seven Sins of Memory published

Press Release
The Seven Sins of Memory
by Daniel L. Schacter
• Introduction
• About the Author
• Daniel Schacter's tips for reducing the impact of
memory sins
• Major media coverage for The Seven Sins of
Memory
• Praise for The Seven Sins of Memory
• Praise for Searching for Memory: The Brain, The
Mind, and the Past
"Schacter . . . proves himself our most commanding and accessible writer
about this fascinating subject . . . Compelling in its science and its probing
examination of everyday life, The Seven Sins of Memory is also a delightful
book, lively and clear . . . a superb example of contemporary science writing
for a popular audience." — Floyd Skloot, Chicago Tribune
"Clear, entertaining, and provocative . . . This book encourages a new
appreciation of the complexity and fragility of memory and how it affects our
daily lives." — David Williams, Seattle Times
"To lose memory is to lose our sense of self." — Stephen S. Hall, New York
Times Book Review
Introduction
Forgive my memory, for it has sinned. And continues to sin. And when I've
forgotten I've sinned, well, that's a sin, too.
Are we never to escape the sins of our memories? It seems we all — from
stressed-out twenty-somethings to aging baby boomers to senior citizens —
suffer memory problems:
• WHERE did I put the keys?
www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com
1 of 8
Copyright (c) 2003, Houghton Mifflin Company, All Rights Reserved
• I've known her for fifteen years, yet WHAT is her name?
• I'm sure I learned the Pythagorean theorem in high school, so WHY can't I
remember it?
The first step to overcoming our memory problems is to understand what sins
our mind commits. In The Seven Sins of Memory, Daniel L. Schacter
compares the seven ancient deadly sins to the seven "transgressions" of
memory. He realizes, however, that we as sinners need to understand not
only what the sins are, but why we commit these sins and how we can
overcome them.
He divides the sins into two categories — the sins of omission and the sins of
commission. The sins of omission include transience, absent-mindedness, and
blocking. The sins of commission are misattribution, suggestibility, bias, and
persistence. Schacter illustrates these concepts with vivid examples — case
studies, literary excerpts, experimental evidence, and accounts of highly
visible news events. He also highlights ways in which we can improve our
memories and change the patterns that lead to these memory problems.
Despite the frustrations caused by these lapses, Schacter reminds us that
they are not without purpose. As Schacter explains, "Each of the deadly sins
can be seen as exaggerations of traits that are useful and sometimes
necessary for survival." Rather than portraying them as flaws in the design of
our brain or inherent weaknesses, he argues that they "provide a window on
the adaptive strengths of memory." For example, although it is exasperating
to hunt for your keys, your memory filters unneeded or often-repeated
information, such as where you put the keys, in order to help you perform
routine tasks efficiently.
The Seven Sins of Memory was a New York Times Notable Book, as was
Daniel Schacter's previous book, Searching for Memory. As one of the
country's leading memory experts, Schacter has appeared on Today, The
Early Show, Charlie Rose, and Science Daily. He has also discussed memory
on NPR's Fresh Air, Weekend All Things Considered, To the Best of Our
Knowledge, and The Connection.
About the Author
Daniel L. Schacter is the chairman at Harvard University's Department of
Psychology, where he researches cognitive and neuropsychological aspects of
www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com
2 of 8
Copyright (c) 2003, Houghton Mifflin Company, All Rights Reserved
memory and amnesia. He is the author of The Seven Sins of Memory: How
the Mind Forgets and Remembers, which received a New York Times Notable
Book of the Year Award, and Searching for Memory, which was also a New
York Times Notable Book of the Year. It was named one of Library Journal's
Best Science and Technology Books of the Year and won the American
Psychological Association's William James Book Award.
Schacter has published articles on his research in a variety of scholarly
journals, including the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychological
Science, Journal of Memory and Language, and American Psychologist.
Considered an expert in memory research, Schacter has made many
appearances in the scientific community and in the media. He was the
keynote speaker at the American Psychological Association's 2000
conference, and has appeared on the Discovery Channel, the Learning
Channel, 20/20, NBC's Today and Sunday Today, CBS's Early Show, and
PBS's Scientific American Frontiers, with Alan Alda.
Daniel Schacter's Tips for Reducing the Impact of Memory
Sins
TRANSIENCE: weakening of memory over time
Transience is a basic feature of memory — as hours, weeks, and years pass,
memories fade or become distorted. In order to overcome this sin, Schacter
suggests the following methods:
• Visual imagery mnemonics: Elaborate on information you wish to remember
by converting it into vivid and even bizarre visual imagery. For example, to
remember the author's name, Daniel Schacter, one might think of him
surrounded by a group of lions (Daniel in the lion's den), eyeing a shack into
which he hopes to flee for protection.
• Generating elaboration: Ask questions about what you wish to remember,
which force you to elaborate. What are the distinctive facial features of the
woman I just meet? What acquaintance does she remind me of, and what are
the similarities and differences?
• Herbs, hormones, and genes: Quite a bit of media attention is given to
memory drugs such as ginkgo. However, Schacter says, "Given a choice
between taking gingko or investing some time and effort into developing
elaborate encoding strategies, healthy people would be well advised to focus
on the latter approach."
www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com
3 of 8
Copyright (c) 2003, Houghton Mifflin Company, All Rights Reserved
ABSENT-MINDEDNESS: breakdown between attention and memory
Absent-mindedness is perhaps the most irritating of the seven memory sins.
Schacter says, "Absent-minded errors of prospective memory (remembering
to do things in the future) are annoying not only because of their pragmatic
consequences, but also because others tend to see them as reflecting on
credibility and even character in a way that poor retrospective memory does
not." The solution?
• Use event-based cues ("Take your medication after brushing your teeth")
rather than time-based cues ("Take your medication at 11:00 p.m.").
• Give yourself highly distinctive cues that have few other associations in longterm memory and are unlikely to remind you of irrelevant information.
• Provide yourself with sufficient information. Write down not only the phone
number you wish to remember, but whom it belongs to and how you know
that person.
BLOCKING: thwarted search for desired information
Most of us have had the feeling that the word or name we are searching for is
on the tip of our tongue. Blocking occurs most frequently with people's
names, though it often occurs with other proper nouns, including places,
titles of books and movies, and names of popular tunes, as well as common
words. Unlike absent-minded memory failures, this information has been
encoded and stored, as is evident when one remembers it with
embarrassment hours later.
• If you are able to remember some letters of the word, use them as a
starting point.
• Try to recall similar situations in which you saw the person or used the word
to help trigger memory.
• Avoid repeating words that sound similar; it will only prolong your search.
• Be proactive and link images to the word or name before you are likely to
need it.
MISATTRIBUTION: incorrect memory assignment
Misattribution occurs when we remember doing things we only imagined, or
recall seeing a friend at a time or place other than when or where we actually
encountered him — we remember aspects of the incident correctly but
attribute them to the wrong source.
• Do not rely on general recollections; rather, focus on specific aspects of the
incident.
• Create conditions that induce you to rely on accurate recollections of what
really happened rather than being misled into errors based on general
resemblances.
www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com
4 of 8
Copyright (c) 2003, Houghton Mifflin Company, All Rights Reserved
• Base your memory decisions on specific recollections, rather than relying on
an overall familiarity.
• Pay close attention to the source of your ideas rather than relying on a
general recollection.
SUGGESTIBILITY: implantation of wrong memories
Suggestibility refers to an individual's tendency to incorporate misleading
information from external sources into personal recollections. Schacter says
this sin is the most dangerous of the seven because "leading questions can
contribute to eyewitness misidentification; suggestive psychotherapy
procedures may foster the creation of false memories; and aggressive
interviewing of preschool children can result in distorted memories of alleged
abuse . . . The stakes are high in these cases for affected individuals." To
combat suggestibility, Schacter suggests the following:
• Report everything about the relevant incident ("What color was his shirt?"
rather than focusing on general concepts: "Describe your attacker").
• Reinstate mentally the setting in which the incident occurred.
• Try to recall events in different temporal orders: start at the beginning and
proceed to the end, and vice versa.
• Try to take a different perspective on an event.
BIAS: editing the past based on current experiences
Seeing yourself in a positive light and another person negatively is a common
bias. Another example is the habit of altering your recollection of the past to
fit the present. Schacter says these biases are worrisome because "they can
reduce or even prevent learning from experience: if we feel we knew all along
what would happen, then we may be less inclined to profit from the lesson a
particular event or incident can teach us." An especially pernicious bias is
stereotyping: expecting someone to act or behave a certain way because of
his age or race.
• While there are no shortcuts, bias can be limited through self-examination.
PERSISTENCE: repeated recall of disturbing memories
Perhaps the most debilitating sin, persistence involves remembering those
things you wish you could forget — the song stuck in your head, an
unpleasant or difficult experience, the death of a loved one, failure at work,
or the rejection of a lover. Persistent memories are a major consequence of
any type of traumatic experience: war, violent assaults or rapes, sexual
abuse, earthquakes and other natural disasters, torture and brutal
imprisonment, motor vehicle accidents. "Though such events may seem like
relatively rare occurrences," says Schacter, "epidemiological studies suggest
www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com
5 of 8
Copyright (c) 2003, Houghton Mifflin Company, All Rights Reserved
that just over half of women and 60 percent of men will experience at least
one traumatic event in their lives." How does one deal with these persistent
memories?
• Write down your memory. This tip is particularly effective with minor
persistent memories, such as the tune running through your head.
• Engage in distracting activities that draw your attention away from
continued ruminations on an unpleasant experience.
• Acknowledge, confront, and work through your intrusive memories.
• Disclose difficult experiences to others.
Major media coverage for The Seven Sins of Memory
TELEVISION
CBS Early Show
NBC Today
PBS The Charlie Rose Show
Discovery Channel Science Daily
A&E Open Book
RADIO
KQED The Forum
NPR Fresh Air
NPR To the Best of Our Knowledge
NPR The Connection
NPR Weekend All Things Considered
NPR Syndicated Todd Mundt Show
WAMU Public Interest
PRINT
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Booklist
Boston Globe
Cerebrum
Chicago Tribune
Dallas Morning News
Fortune
Kirkus Reviews
Library Journal
Modern Maturity
National Post
www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com
6 of 8
Copyright (c) 2003, Houghton Mifflin Company, All Rights Reserved
Natural Health
Nature
New Scientist
New York Times Book Review
Newsweek
Parenting
Philadelphia Inquirer
Psychology Today
San Francisco Chronicle
Science News
Seattle Times
Scientific American
Talk
USA Today
USNews.com (USN&WR on-line)
Wired
Praise for The Seven Sins of Memory
"Schacter guides his readers on a fascinating journey of the human mind." —
Library Journal
"A lively and well-written survey, spiced up with incidents from recent
headlines." — Kirkus Reviews
"Schacter offers insight into common malfunctions of the mind." — Anita
Manning, USA Today
"You could hardly ask for a more knowledgeable interpreter of the scientific
literature." — New York Times Book Review
"Clear, entertaining, and provocative . . . This book encourages a new
appreciation of the complexity and fragility of memory and how it affects our
daily lives." — David Williams, Seattle Times
"Schacter exposes the fascinating intricacies of human memory, which is all
the more remarkable for its foibles." — Science News
"Endlessly intriguing." — David Kipen, San Francisco Chronicle
"Both fascinating and of practical importance." — Larry R. Squire, Nature
www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com
7 of 8
Copyright (c) 2003, Houghton Mifflin Company, All Rights Reserved
"Schacter . . . proves himself our most commanding and accessible writer
about this fascinating subject . . . Compelling in its science and its probing
examination of everyday life, The Seven Sins of Memory is also a delightful
book, lively and clear . . . a superb example of contemporary science writing
for a popular audience." — Floyd Skloot, Chicago Tribune
"Beyond the curious and amazing elements of memory, the technical,
neurological, and legal issues, Schacter's work goes to the heart of what it
means to be human." — Boston Globe
"Schacter exposes the fascinating intricacies of human memory." — Science
News
Praise for Searching for Memory: The Brain, The Mind, and
the Past
"An excellent book on an important topic." — New York Times Book Review
"A splendidly lucid book." — The New Yorker
"A full, rich picture of how human memory works . . . wonderfully
enlightening." — Publishers Weekly, starred review
Booksellers Home | Trade Home | FAQ | Site Map
Privacy Policy | Trademark Information
Copyright © 2003 Houghton Mifflin Company, All Rights Reserved
www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com
8 of 8
Copyright (c) 2003, Houghton Mifflin Company, All Rights Reserved