The psychology of 'hacking' your memory

Peter Killeen, Arizona State University professor emeritus of psychology, was featured in a recent Fast Company article titled, "How to Hack Your Memory Into Better Shape," as part of the magazine's How to Be a Sucess at Everything series.

The author of the piece, Drake Baer, points out that the goal in improving your memory should not simply be to pay more attention to things, but to "adapt to our slippery habits of mind." 

Killeen, who is especially interested in the psychology of why we remember some things and forget others, recently published a journal article about the science of "mind wandering" in Frontiers in Personality Science and Individual Differences, which is referenced in the Fast Company article.

He shares an anecdote about the notable psychologist B.F. Skinner, who had a "clever collaboration" with his wife in which she would help him remember the names of people they met, thus helping both of their memories work better.