Rosy past bias ("good old days" effect)

Biological Parallel

Aging territorial animals selectively remember peak performance while forgetting costs. Red deer stags that held harems at age 7-9 (peak reproductive years) continue challenging younger stags at age 12-14 despite 80% defeat rates, suggesting memory bias toward 'the good old days.' Aging alpha baboons attempt dominance displays that worked at age 10-12 but fail at age 18-20 when muscle mass has declined 30%, indicating selective recall of victories over defeats. Elephant matriarchs remember drought survival routes from 40+ years prior with high accuracy but forget failed routes, creating 'rosy retrospection' where past strategies seem more successful than they were. The mechanism: emotional valence shapes memory consolidation—victories trigger dopamine release that strengthens encoding, while defeats trigger stress hormones that promote memory suppression.