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memory
You misremember your past self to fit your current values.
A 1986 study by Ross and Conway demonstrated that individuals recall their past attitudes as more similar to their current ones than they actually were.
Ross, M., & Conway, M. (1986). Remembering one's own past: The construction of personal histories. In R. M. Sorrentino & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of motivation and cognition.
You edit your own past to keep your present self feeling consistent.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Ross (1989), Psychological Review
- What the check found
- The phenomenon of consistency bias is well-documented, but the source citation is imprecise, mixing the 1986 empirical work with the 1989 review paper.
- Confidence
- Solid, with limits
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.