Good and Bad Memories: Why They Are Important

Categories: MemoriesMemory

We all have memories, but everyone has both good and bad memories. Usually the bad ones are the most memorable ones because people don’t want to go through them again. There is many reasons bad memories are more memorable, maybe you are emotionally scarred because of something you went through, or maybe you remember a loved one who passed away and it makes you sad. Some people may think otherwise, but would you more likely remember a memory where you had a great day and everything went your way, or a memory in which a horrific event took place and you learned a lesson or made a mistake you would never make a again.

The idea of bad memories being more memorable than good memories makes sense to me because you can learn from bad ones which is the reason they are more memorable, they can teach you lessons in life.

A perfect example of a bad memory is when you remember a loved one who has either been removed from your life or has passed away.

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Yes, of course you can remember the good memories, but for some reason the bad ones are always stronger. They are stronger because they more than likely have left you emotionally scarred and any reminder can trigger a series of memories that will have you in tears before you know it. This example makes sense because just about everyone has got this memories somewhere in their minds and can easily relate to the cause of these types of bad memories.

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Bad memories don’t necessarily need to be sad in order to be stronger than good ones, there is also a chance you have gone through an event at some point in your life either in your child hood or as recent as a few years, months, even days ago where you now know to never commit the same mistake and go through it again. A perfect example is when and I’m sorry that these types of situations cannot be prevented more easily, but drunk drivers causing fatal accidents to innocent people is a perfect example because it will haunt the driver for the rest of his life. And even though the driver may say “I have learned my lesson, I will never drink and drive again,” it doesn’t matter because the damage has been done and it will haunt the depth of your memories for as long as you may live.

This is why bad memories usually can overpower the good ones. No matter how happy the memory a good memory can always be easily destroyed by the thought of a bad one. This is what I believe and even if you don’t agree when you remember a memory think of both a bad and good one and more than likely the negative one will be a more overpowering force on your mind.

Works cited

  1. Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Finkenauer, C., & Vohs, K. D. (2001). Bad is stronger than good. Review of General Psychology, 5(4), 323-370. doi: 10.1037//1089-2680.5.4.323
  2. Davis, C. G., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Larson, J. (1998). Making sense of loss and benefiting from the experience: Two construals of meaning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(2), 561-574. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.75.2.561
  3. Freud, S. (1920). Beyond the Pleasure Principle. The International Psycho-Analytical Library, 4. doi: 10.1037/11281-000
  4. Kross, E., Gard, D., Deldin, P., Clifton, J., & Ayduk, O. (2012). “Asking why” from a distance: Its cognitive and emotional consequences for people with major depressive disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 121(3), 559-569. doi: 10.1037/a0028822
  5. Leary, M. R., & Kowalski, R. M. (1990). Impression management: A literature review and two-component model. Psychological Bulletin, 107(1), 34-47. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.107.1.34
  6. Neisser, U. (1982). Memory Observed: Remembering in Natural Contexts. San Francisco: Freeman.
  7. Rubin, D. C., & Kozin, M. (1984). Vivid memories. Cognition, 16(1), 81-95. doi: 10.1016/0010-0277(84)90006-1
  8. Schacter, D. L. (1996). Searching for Memory: The Brain, The Mind, and The Past. New York: Basic Books.
  9. Talarico, J. M., & Rubin, D. C. (2003). Confidence, not consistency, characterizes flashbulb memories. Psychological Science, 14(5), 455-461. doi: 10.1111/1467-9280.02453
  10. Walker, W. R., Skowronski, J. J., & Thompson, C. P. (2003). Life is pleasant—and memory helps to keep it that way! Review of General Psychology, 7(2), 203-210. doi: 10.1037/1089-2680.7.2.203
Updated: Feb 27, 2024
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Good and Bad Memories: Why They Are Important. (2024, Feb 27). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/good-and-bad-memories-why-they-are-important-essay

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