An Unforgettable World Series? Only If Your Team Wins

Miller-McCune:

Fans of the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals will be anxiously following every inning of baseball during this year’s World Series. But how much will they remember about the key games five or six years from now?

New research suggests it largely depends upon on whether their team won or lost.

A study just published in the journal Psychological Science contradicts the notion we have sharper memories of negative events. Catholic University psychologists Carolyn Breslin and Martin Safer found fans of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox more accurately recalled key playoff games in which their team prevailed.

Their study, which was conducted in late 2008, featured 1,563 baseball fans who reported “attending, watching, or reading about the decisive 2003 and 2004 American League Championship games.” Seventy-eight percent called themselves Red Sox fans, 14 percent were Yankees fans, and 8 percent were neutral. (The high percentage of Red Sox fans reflects the fact many learned of the study via a post on a Red Sox-related website.)

Read the whole story: Miller-McCune