Comments on: How the Consistency Bias Warps Our Personal and Political Memories http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/02/how-consistency-bias-warps-our-personal.php Understand your mind with the science of psychology - Mon, 04 May 2009 10:30:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jeremy (PsyBlog author) http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/02/how-consistency-bias-warps-our-personal.php/comment-page-1#comment-21311 Jeremy (PsyBlog author) Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:48:00 +0000 http://spring.org.uk/2008/02/how-the-consistency-bias-warps-our-personal-and-political-memories.php#comment-21311 Jo, positive psychology is certainly a fascinating area - who knows what will be discovered!<br /><br />Anon, I would question whether it is really rational to assume that things have remained the same. Jo, positive psychology is certainly a fascinating area - who knows what will be discovered!

Anon, I would question whether it is really rational to assume that things have remained the same.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/02/how-consistency-bias-warps-our-personal.php/comment-page-1#comment-21299 Anonymous Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:57:00 +0000 http://spring.org.uk/2008/02/how-the-consistency-bias-warps-our-personal-and-political-memories.php#comment-21299 It seems to me that a lot of the "consistency bias" can be explained by people simply forgetting their position. For instance, if people think that study courses improve their skills, and they forget what their skills were before the course, they will naturally infer that they were worse.<br /><br />Similarly, if I forgot what I thought my relationship was like 8 months ago, but I later found that there were some latent issues that came out, I would rate my relationship as being worse than I did at the time.<br /><br />In each case I'm forgetting what I thought, so I am merely trying to reason what I should have thought given what I thought the circumstances were at the time. To me this seems like a rational strategy, and not really a "bias" It seems to me that a lot of the "consistency bias" can be explained by people simply forgetting their position. For instance, if people think that study courses improve their skills, and they forget what their skills were before the course, they will naturally infer that they were worse.

Similarly, if I forgot what I thought my relationship was like 8 months ago, but I later found that there were some latent issues that came out, I would rate my relationship as being worse than I did at the time.

In each case I'm forgetting what I thought, so I am merely trying to reason what I should have thought given what I thought the circumstances were at the time. To me this seems like a rational strategy, and not really a "bias"

]]> By: Jo http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/02/how-consistency-bias-warps-our-personal.php/comment-page-1#comment-21297 Jo Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:29:00 +0000 http://spring.org.uk/2008/02/how-the-consistency-bias-warps-our-personal-and-political-memories.php#comment-21297 I use the Canadian program inpowr to manage and review my goals. The advantage of a computer system, is that you are prompted to review all your goals, not just the one's that are prominent in your mind. <br /><br />I was stunned by how much success is crowded out by failures. I know the positive psychologists tell us this. I thought I understood. But it is to be experienced to be believed.<br /><br />How much do you think positive psychology will cause a review of any of the studies you quoted? I use the Canadian program inpowr to manage and review my goals. The advantage of a computer system, is that you are prompted to review all your goals, not just the one's that are prominent in your mind.

I was stunned by how much success is crowded out by failures. I know the positive psychologists tell us this. I thought I understood. But it is to be experienced to be believed.

How much do you think positive psychology will cause a review of any of the studies you quoted?

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