Memories of "bad" days are more biased than memories of "good" days: past Saturdays vary, but past Mondays are always blue
RIS ID
108432
Abstract
In a survey of 202 participants, Monday was cited most frequently as the worst morning (65%) and evening (35%); whereas Friday (43%) and Saturday (45%) were the best evening and morning, respectively. Test-retest reliability was higher for worst morning (.89) and evening (.83) judgments, compared to best morning (.44) and evening (.61) judgments. In a second survey of 353 participants, ratings of typical moods were lowest on Monday, rising to a peak on Saturday, but actual momentary moods showed little or no variation by day. Remembered moods from the previous Monday were more strongly related to typical moods than to actual moods, but the reverse was true of remembered moods from the previous Friday and Saturday.
Publication Details
Areni, C. S. & Burger, M. (2008). Memories of "bad" days are more biased than memories of "good" days: past Saturdays vary, but past Mondays are always blue. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38 (6), 1395-1415.