Memory bias: how selective recall can impact your memories - Ness Labs

A memory bias distorts the content of your memory.

Our memories are reconstructed during recall. The process of recall makes them prone to manipulation and errors.

• Rosy retrospection bias. We often remember the past as having been better than it really was.
• Consistency bias. We wrongly remember our past attitudes and behaviour as similar to our present attitudes and behaviour.
• Mood-congruent memory bias. We better remember memories that are consistent with our current mood.
• Hindsight or knew-it-all-along bias. We consider past events as being predictable.
• Egocentric bias. We recall past events in a self-serving manner. We remember a caught fish as bigger than it was.
• Availability bias. We think the memories that come easily to mind is more representative than it really is.
• Recency effect. We best remember the most recent information.
• Choice-supportive bias. We remember chosen options as better than rejected options.
• Fading effect bias. Our emotions associated with negative memories fade faster than our feelings associated with pleasant memories.
• Confirmation bias. We tend to interpret memories in a way that confirms our prior hypotheses of personal beliefs.