The 7 SINS of memory

Memory is defined as «the function of the brain that allows the organism to encode, store and retrieve information from the past».In Science Daily Online we have spoken to you on different occasions of this function and we have investigated in what place of the brain is found or what can cause you Super Memory.Going deeper into this interesting topic, we have known the theories of the American psychologist Daniel Schacter and what he calls the 7 SINS of memory .

SINS of memory, what are they?

Schacter considers that our memory is our life since it is made up of memories.As a brain function that is at the base of all learning it is defined as " the ability to acquire, store and retrieve information ".Without memory we could not learn or think and she forms our personal identity .

Schacter, who was director of the department of psychology at Harvard University, has He made memory the center of his research and discovered what he calls the 7 sins of memory by paralleling the 7 deadly sins. He believes that if we are able to avoid them, we will improve our ability to remember Two groups distinguish between sins of memory, those that are "omission" and those that qualify as "commission." These characteristics of memory are not intrinsically bad, since in some cases they fulfill a useful function, it is their malfunction which makes them "sins of memory".

By default are:

1.The Passage of Time or Transience

It is the deterioration of memories over time.Not only because of the new memories we store, but also p Orque every time we remember something, it is re-encoded in the hippocampus altering memory.

2.Blocking

Blocking is when our brain tries to retrieve information and other memories interferes creating a temporary inaccessibility.It is what happens to us when we say "I have it at the tip of the tongue".

3.Distraction or Absence of conscience

They are misleading that have to do with the lack of attention when we do something.It would be the cause that we do not find the glasses or the keys.At the time of coding, when memory and attention must connect, we have not been attentive.

By commission :

4.Suggestibility

Occurs when memories are influenced by external agents and without realizing it we accept a false suggestion made by others and include it in our memory.We did not remember something and when a friend explained it to us, we remember it.

5.Retrospective bias or propensity

Schacter calls it a sin of bias.It is when the memory is affected by the opinion or mood we have at the time of remembering.If we are happy adults, we will surely remember our childhood with affection and have positive memories, even if not all were like that.

6.The wrong attribution

It happens when we collect the information well, but we attribute it to the wrong person.It is very dangerous when it comes to court cases.It is also when we attribute the author of something that we have not really done.

7.Persistence

It is a memory failure that makes us persistently remember something we want to forget about its disturbing or traumatic connotations.Even if we try it, the memory comes back and can cause phobias, post-traumatic stress and even lead us to suicide.

These 7 sins of memory occur frequently in everyday life and can have more consequences or less serious in it, but they really form part of our mind and shape our memory to make it work, since although we have to be especially careful if we want to remember something exactly, each of those sins gives us a faithful portrait of how our memory works and has a positive and useful counterpart, for example persistence, which can cause post-traumatic stress is also responsible for long-term memory.

If you have been interested in this topic , you may want to read the post:

-When nothing is what you think: the man who has antimemory

Image: Kylie_Jaxxon