Do Schacter’s Seven Sins of Memory Apply to Ratings of Children’s Emotional and Behavioral Functioning?

Abstract

Schacter (2001) proposes that there are seven memory malfunctions that occur in everyday life and that affect individuals’ ability to recall occurrences in their lives. Given that these sins affect other areas of memory, it is likely that they may affect the ratings that informants provide when they are recalling characteristics of the emotional and behavioral functioning of children and adolescents. This manuscript explores evidence to support this supposition by reviewing relevant studies that fit the description of Schacter’s (2001) seven sins (i.e., transience, absent-mindedness, blocking, misattribution, suggestibility, bias, and persistence). Generally, this manuscript suggests that mental health professionals should be aware of the influence that these seven sins of memory may have on ratings that informants provided regarding the functioning of children and adolescents.