<p>The cognitive bias behind <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostalgia" rel="nofollow noreferrer">nostalgia</a> is called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosy_retrospection" rel="nofollow noreferrer">rosy retrospection</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>... the psychological phenomenon of people sometimes judging the past
  disproportionately more positively than they judge the present.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>A common explanation for this phenomenon is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socioemotional_selectivity_theory" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Socioemotional selectivity theory</a> (SST):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The theory maintains that as time horizons shrink, as they typically
  do with age, people become increasingly selective, investing greater
  resources in emotionally meaningful goals and activities. According to
  the theory, motivational shifts also influence cognitive processing.
  Aging is associated with a relative preference for positive over
  negative information in attention and memory (called the "positivity
  effect").</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Related to this, but somewhat different is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollyanna_principle" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Pollyanna principle</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>... (also called Pollyannaism or positivity bias) is the tendency for
  people to remember pleasant items more accurately than unpleasant
  ones.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-10T06:53:27.043Z
Seeing things through "rose tinted spectacles" can be done with either the past or present.  Care is needed if anyone is to judge someone to be suffering from rosy restrospection in the form suggested when sometimes the past **can** be better than the present.
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-10T16:59:00.467Z
That's right - a cognitive bias is after all, just a bias.
Arnon Weinberg
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-10T04:40:01.130Z
2017-07-10T04:40:01.130Z
Arnon Weinberg
<p>Why do the good ol' days seem better than they actually are? Is this a result of an error in human thought or is it because things are actually worsening?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-10T06:48:41.063Z
What makes you suggest that the "good old days" were not better than they currently are?  Are there specific "good old days" you are referring to or are you referring to everything in the past compared to the present?
Chris Rogers
<cognitive-psychology><memory><bias>
What cognitive bias (loosely) makes us all the more susceptible to the golden age fallacy
Nine
# What cognitive bias (loosely) makes us all the more susceptible to the golden age fallacy

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-07-10)

Why do the good ol' days seem better than they actually are? Is this a result of an error in human thought or is it because things are actually worsening?

**Tags:** cognitive-psychology, memory, bias

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: What makes you suggest that the "good old days" were not better than they currently are?  Are there specific "good old days" you are referring to or are you referring to everything in the past compared to the present?  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-07-10. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

The cognitive bias behind [nostalgia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostalgia) is called [rosy retrospection](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosy_retrospection):

> ... the psychological phenomenon of people sometimes judging the past
> disproportionately more positively than they judge the present.

A common explanation for this phenomenon is [Socioemotional selectivity theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socioemotional_selectivity_theory) (SST):

> The theory maintains that as time horizons shrink, as they typically
> do with age, people become increasingly selective, investing greater
> resources in emotionally meaningful goals and activities. According to
> the theory, motivational shifts also influence cognitive processing.
> Aging is associated with a relative preference for positive over
> negative information in attention and memory (called the "positivity
> effect").

Related to this, but somewhat different is the [Pollyanna principle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollyanna_principle):

> ... (also called Pollyannaism or positivity bias) is the tendency for
> people to remember pleasant items more accurately than unpleasant
> ones.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Seeing things through "rose tinted spectacles" can be done with either the past or present.  Care is needed if anyone is to judge someone to be suffering from rosy restrospection in the form suggested when sometimes the past **can** be better than the present.  
> **username_2**: That's right - a cognitive bias is after all, just a bias.  

---

