About

Dr. Daniel L. Schacter is associated with Harvard University's Schacter Memory Lab, which focuses on understanding the nature and function of human memory. His work involves research into the mechanisms underlying memory processes, aiming to deepen the scientific understanding of how memory functions in humans. The lab is based at William James Hall, located at 33 Kirkland Street, Floor 8, Cambridge, MA. Further details about his specific background, academic credentials, or key contributions are not provided in the available page text.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Psychology
• Cognitive psychology
• Political Science
• Social psychology
• Cognitive science
• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Epistemology
• Internet privacy
• Management science
• Economics

Selected publications

• Gaze patterns reveal attention-based modulation of lure discrimination

  Cognition · 2026-04-24

  articleOpen access

  The ability to differentiate highly overlapping stimuli or experiences in memory (and the behavioral lure discrimination outcomes that reflect this ability) has traditionally been studied as a mnemonic process. However, the contribution of goal-directed attentional processes, involved in a similar interference resolution function, has yet to be examined. Using eye-tracking, we first show that eye movements can be used as a sensitive measure of behavioral lure discrimination, based on performance on the widely used Mnemonic Similarity Task (Experiment 1). We then show in three separate experiments that a gaze-based measure of lure discrimination is modulated by attentional priorities induced through manipulation of task goals during a perceptual discrimination task (Experiments 2-4). Specifically, prioritizing attention to objects in "relevant" categories attenuated lure discrimination for objects in "irrelevant" categories. When task demands were equated across conditions, lure discrimination was enhanced for objects in "relevant" categories (Experiment 4). Finally, gaze-based lure discrimination predicted subsequent memory quality on a surprise memory task. The present findings provide critical evidence that behavioral lure discrimination can be modulated by changes in attentional priorities, and more broadly, that goal-directed attentional processes mediate the extent to which similar inputs are discriminated in memory.

  PublisherDOI

• The Roles of Memory and Imagination in Evaluating Usefulness of Novel Ideas

  The Journal of Creative Behavior · 2026-03-01

  articleSenior author

  ABSTRACT Episodic retrieval processes that support reconstructing past experiences and imagining future experiences have been linked to creative idea generation. However, little is known about the possible role of such episodic processes in the evaluation of creative ideas. Across two independent samples, participants rated the effectiveness of pregenerated object‐use pairs and subsequently reported the extent to which they relied on memory and imagination during their evaluations. Using preregistered ordinal logistic mixed‐effects models, we found consistent patterns: typical uses were associated with greater reliance on memory, while novel uses prompted greater reliance on imagination. These effects were robust across both the Prolific sample ( n = 50) and the larger DLABSS sample ( n = 623), with large effect sizes in both studies. These findings support the idea that distinct types of episodic processes are recruited depending on the familiarity and novelty of the stimuli, suggesting a functional dissociation between memory and imagination in evaluative processes.

  PublisherDOI

• Domain-specific Learning and Remediation of Memory Disorders

  2026-01-09

  book-chapter

  This chapter describes the domain-specific learning approach to the remediation of memory disorders. Based on empirical findings of preserved memory functions in amnesic patients, this approach attempts to exploit such intact processes in order to teach patients complex knowledge and tasks relevant in everyday life. Several studies are outlined that illustrate the capability of memory-impaired patients to acquire complex, domain-specific knowledge, using their preserved ability to respond normally to partial cues. Successful acquisition by amnesic patients of new vocabulary, of computer operations, and of data-entry procedures are described. Issues of specificity of learning and problems in transfer are considered empirically and in the context of relevant theoretical ideas. Failures of transfer are shown not to be a consequence of the extensive repetition and overlearning that is required for patients to acquire new information initially. Speculations concerning the characteristics of the memory system or systems that may support learning in amnesic patients are introduced. Finally, implications of the findings for rehabilitation programs are discussed.

  PublisherDOI

• Endel Tulving: An appreciation of his scientific contributions

  Neuropsychologia · 2025-10-08

  review
  PublisherDOI

• Introduction

  Annual Review of Psychology · 2025-01-17

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• The connection between personal semantics and the subjective experience of episodic content: A multilevel analysis

  2025-08-23

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  The dichotomy between episodic and semantic memory has historically limited investigations into memory phenomena that exhibit characteristics of both memory types. Notably, personal semantics can demonstrate episodic qualities of personal significance and semantic qualities of spatiotemporal context-independence. The current study examined this intersection of episodic and semantic memory by investigating whether and to what extent the phenomenological experiences of recalling knowledge of personally familiar people and places and recalling a past episode are related. Participants recalled past episodes each comprising two episodic details, a personally familiar person and location, and rated the subjective vividness of each detail. In a separate personal semantics task, participants generated facts for the same person and location details comprising the recalled episodes and rated the amount of facts experienced. A multilevel analysis revealed that the amount of facts during the personal semantics task predicted the corresponding subjective vividness of those same details during recollection. Importantly, this relationship replicated in a second experiment and persisted even after omitting trials for which participants had utilized an episodic strategy during the personal semantics task. These findings indicate that the subjective experience across personal semantic and episodic memories is linked at the level of individual details.

  PublisherDOI

• A ‘Sweet Spot’ for Creative Ideation: Non‐Linear Associations Between Semantic Distance and Creativity

  The Journal of Creative Behavior · 2025-06-23 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  ABSTRACT Creativity researchers have recently sought to standardize idea assessment via computational measures of semantic distance: the degree of conceptual dissimilarity between words. The relationship between semantic distance and creativity has traditionally been described using linear models, with the embedded assumption that as semantic distance increases, so does the creative quality of ideas. However, informal observations would suggest that distant associations may sometimes become too incoherent or nonsensical to be considered creative. Using generalized additive models (GAMs), we explored the non‐linear nature of this relationship across three divergent thinking tasks: alternate uses, question asking, and metaphor generation. Our results revealed a consistent pattern: human ratings of creativity increased with semantic distance up to a certain threshold (between 0.9 and 1), after which point, additional semantic distance did not translate into more subjectively creative ideas. These findings provide a more nuanced understanding of the interplay between semantic distance and creativity than previously available, suggesting that the relationship is best characterized as curvilinear rather than linear. This work highlights a potential “sweet spot” for semantic distance in creative ideation and holds important implications for models of creativity.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Emotional past and future events after pulvinar damage: A neuropsychological case series

  Cortex · 2025-01-18

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Episodic Future Thinking

  MIT Press eBooks · 2025-07-23

  book-chapterOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Peering into the future: Eye movements predict neural repetition effects during episodic simulation

  Neuropsychologia · 2024-03-18 · 5 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R01MH045398

  NIH · $558k · 1995

• NIH Grant R01MH057915

  NIH · $597k · 2002

• NIH Grant P01NS027950

  NIH · $3.8M · 1998

• NIH Grant R37AG008441

  NIH · $3.3M · 2012

• Event-related Neuroimaging of Human Memory Formation

  NIH · $9.5M · 2000–2027

Frequent coauthors

• Donna Rose Addis

  University of Toronto

  103 shared

• Henry L. Roediger

  Washington University in St. Louis

  88 shared

• Larry L. Jacoby

  84 shared

• Robyn M. Dawes

  82 shared

• Robert Rosenthal

  82 shared

• Richard Lempert

  82 shared

• Daniel Kahneman

  Princeton University

  82 shared

• Elizabeth A. Kensinger

  Boston College

  81 shared

Education

• B.A., Psychology

  Princeton University

  1976

• Ph.D., Psychology

  Stanford University

  1981

Awards & honors

• William James Book Award from the American Psychological Ass…
• Notable Books of the Year by the New York Times for Searchin…
• Notable Books of the Year by the New York Times for The Seve…
• Warren Medal from the Society of Experimental Psychologists
• Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions from the Am…