Could hindsight bias be affecting your perception of your past relationships?

This study highlights how hindsight bias can alter how we look at our past relationships. You may fall into a habit of judging past partners more strongly than you should. In turn, you might judge yourself too harshly for missing what you now see as red flags.

“Hindsight bias can skew our memories of past events, making them appear more predictable or avoidable,” explains Jessica Alderson, relationship expert at So Synced. “We can end up exaggerating or minimising certain aspects of past relationships.”

Alderson explains: “[You might] overlook some of the positive elements or oversimplify the complexities of the relationship at the time, which can bring feelings of regret, self-blame or even a distorted sense of personal responsibility for the relationship’s outcome.”

According to Alderson, this mental phenomenon is a natural process that occurs through an attempt at self-preservation. “When relationships end, it’s natural to seek an understanding of what went wrong in order to protect ourselves from similar experiences in the future,” she says. “A significant part of this process involves reflecting on past events and seeing how they could have helped us predict the eventual outcome. It can be an attempt to regain control and avoid experiencing the same kind of pain again. However, hindsight bias can prevent us from seeing the situation objectively.”

‘Hindsight bias’ could be affecting how you look back on your past relationships