The Seven Sins of Memory: An Update

In this lecture, Daniel Schacter, PhD, of Harvard University, provides an update on the current understanding of the "seven sins" of memory errors, with a focus on the sin of misattribution: when a recollection or idea is mistakenly assigned to the wrong source, resulting in memory distortions such as false recognition. Schacter discusses recent research and considers recently emerging evidence for the idea that misattribution and other memory sins can be conceived of as byproducts of otherwise adaptive features of memory. This video was supported by a grant from the American Psychological Foundation, thanks to generous support from Lee Gurel, PhD, with additional support from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology, APA Div. 2.