Fading affect bias

The fading affect bias, more commonly known as FAB, is a psychological phenomenon in which memories associated with negative emotions tend to be forgotten more quickly than those associated with positive emotions.[1] FAB only refers to the feelings one has associated with the memories and not the content of the memories themselves.[2] Early research studied FAB retrospectively, or through personal reflection, which brought about some criticism because retrospective analysis can be affected by subjective retrospective biases. However, new research using non-retrospective recall studies have found evidence for FAB,[1] and the phenomenon has become largely accepted.

  1. ^ a b Walker, W. Richard; Skowronski, John J. (November 2009). "The Fading affect bias: But what the hell is it for?" (PDF). Applied Cognitive Psychology. 23 (8): 1122–1136. doi:10.1002/acp.1614.
  2. ^ Skowronski, John J.; Walker, W. Richard; Henderson, Dawn X.; Bond, Gary D. (2014-01-01), Olson, James M.; Zanna, Mark P. (eds.), "Chapter Three - The Fading Affect Bias: Its History, Its Implications, and Its Future", Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 49, Academic Press: 163–218, doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-800052-6.00003-2, retrieved 2020-01-29