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memory
Your brain discards negative memories faster than positive ones.
Emotions linked to negative events decay more rapidly than those attached to positive experiences.
Research suggests we distance ourselves from negative autobiographical memories to maintain self-esteem. Over time, the intensity of bad memories dulls, while good ones retain their emotional charge.
You are built to feel better about your past than reality suggests.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Walker & Skowronski (2009)
- What the check found
- The phenomenon described is the Fading Affect Bias, well-documented in psychological literature; Walker and Skowronski are primary researchers in this field.
- Confidence
- Well replicated
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.