" Don't worry; you really will get over it": Methodological investigations of the fading affect bias

JOSHUA D. LANDAU
York College of Pennsylvania

BENJAMIN C. GUNTER
Columbia University

This study examined 2 methodological issues that might influence the fading affect bias (FAB). The FAB occurs when people report that the affective intensity associated with unpleasant events decreases over time more than the intensity of positive events. In the experiments reported here we investigated the FAB using a between-subject design (Experiments 1a and 1b) and manipulated the order of the ratings (past and current) used to measure the FAB (Experiment 2). In each case, we observed a strong FAB effect, suggesting that it is not solely a function of the research design or the order of the intensity ratings. Thus, the FAB is a robust phenomenon that appears in many different situations.

"Sadness flies away on the wings of time."—Jean de La Fontaine