For example, rosy retrospection is more likely to play a role it comes to life events that are generally positive, as well as when it comes to events that are “personally involving” (as opposed to those in which the individual plays the role of a passive observer). There are important caveats regarding rosy retrospection, based on the research on the topic.įirst, this phenomenon is not expected to affect people when it comes to every past experience that they had. Note: people sometimes also experience rosy prospection, which involves the anticipation that future events will be more positive than they actually end up being. However, other factors, such as the desire to justify past actions, can also explain why people experience this phenomenon. Overall, research suggests that the main reason why people experience rosy retrospection is that they tend to forget negative and neutral parts of certain past experiences, which causes those experiences to appear more positive. Similarly, people might also modify their memories of past events in order to make those memories match their view of themself, for example by remembering themself as more daring, social, and successful than they actually were, which in turn can make the events that they were in appear more positive. In addition, another possible explanation for this phenomenon, which is based on dissonance theory, is that people engage in this form of psychological adjustment in order to justify their actions after an experience threatens the way they view themself. Accordingly, in some cases, and particularly when it comes to relatively positive experiences, forgetting these parts can make the overall experience more positive. This is supported by the fact that people show a general tendency to forget distractions and relatively neutral parts of past experiences, which causes them to overestimate the intensity of those experiences. However, these negative thoughts are often short-lived, meaning that over time, people end up forgetting them, which leaves them with a more positive memory of the event. People’s tendency to experience rosy retrospection can be attributed to several factors.įirst, when people experience a certain event, they tend to have both positive and negative thoughts, the latter of which are caused by various issues, such as disappointments or feelings of lack of control. Note: a related phenomenon that often occurs as a result of rosy retrospection is nostalgia, which is an emotional longing or affection for something in the past. Forget the more negative parts of a relationship that you were in.Overestimate how much you enjoyed a concert that you went to a while ago.Remember your college years as being more fun than they actually were.Remember only the enjoyable parts of a family vacation that you went on as a kid.For example, rosy retrospection can cause you to: Understanding rosy retrospection Examples of rosy retrospectionĮxamples of rosy retrospection appear in various areas of life, both when it comes to how you view specific memories, as well as how you view longer periods of your life. The history and origin of rosy retrospection.Final words on rosy retrospection and declinism. The benefits and dangers of rosy retrospection.Why people experience rosy retrospection.As such, in the following article you will learn more about how rosy retrospection and declinism affect people’s thinking, and see what you can do in order to account for these phenomena. For example, someone who displays declinism might believe that society as a whole is becoming worse and worse every day, even if by their own metrics the situation is actually improving.īecause rosy retrospection causes people to believe that the past was better than it actually was, it can cause the present and future to appear bad in comparison, which is why rosy retrospection can often lead to declinism.īoth rosy retrospection and declinism are important to understand, since they can influence people in various ways. For example, rosy retrospection could cause someone to remember their childhood years as being more joyful than they actually were.ĭeclinism is the belief that a certain entity, such as a country or a company, is declining, and is potentially headed toward a future collapse. Rosy retrospection is a cognitive bias that causes people to remember past events as being more positive than they were in reality.
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