Fading Affect Bias

The phenomenon was first documented by W. Richard Walker, Robin J. Vogl, and Charles P. Thompson in a 1997 diary study in Applied Cognitive Psychology, in which participants tracked event memories over several years and found the emotional sting of unpleasant memories faded faster than the pleasure of positive ones. Walker and colleagues formally named it the "Fading Affect Bias" (FAB) in a 2003 paper in Review of General Psychology. The effect is understood as a psychological mechanism supporting well-being and a positive self-concept.