Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

People who act to save lives generally count as heroes.  Tuesday, 6 September, I looked out on the Hudson River at the spot where Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger III landed the U S Airways jet on the water. I saw small water craft and a slow-moving barge. I wondered what kind of courage and skill would it take to really land a jet such that all 155 people lived to tell their story. As with any retelling of an event, people recall different facts . Anyone wanting to accurately retell a story exercises some degree of judgment when reconciling disparate narratives. Add to this the known problems of eye-witnesses and we have the potential for disagreement. Fortunately, scientific advances can help investigators in their quest to learn lessons to prevent future problems. Data are recorded. Simulations can be run. Asking questions of heroes and survivors is important but it can be a challenging experience for all involved. The movie, Sully , retells the tale of this 2009 dram...

Creative Memories I recall the time our house was bombed by the Germans. Actually, I don’t. But I do recall my mother telling the captivating story. We love stories—especially stories that inspire us by overcoming great odds or keep us in suspense as to the death-defying outcome. From time to time a famous person tells a tale that stretches credulity and seems fit for a party or a pub rather than a place of leadership. We want people we can trust. If they lie about their past, won’t they lie to us about important matters? For decades, psychologists have published studies that plumb the limitations of human memory. Since Bartlett published his famous work in 1932 , we have been suspicious about the accuracy in human memory. To paraphrase, Bartlett explained that the processes of relying on memory to help us adapt to life events also lead to errors. A few years ago (2012), psychological scientist, Daniel Schacter provided a helpful summa...