Effects of Event Valence on Long-Term Memory for Two Baseball Championship Games
Carolyn W. Breslin and Martin A. Safer
Which are remembered more accurately, positively or negatively valenced events? New York Yankees fans, Boston Red Sox fans, and neutral fans were asked to recognize and recall facts about a championship game that the New York Yankees won (2003) and a championship game that the Boston Red Sox won (2004). Yankees fans' and Red Sox fans' memories were more accurate for the championship their team won and worse for the championship their team lost; neutral fans had the worst memory of the games. Participants reported increased mental repetition of winning-game memories, and further analysis indicated that this repetition was a reason why the positive, winning-game memories were better remembered.
