That unforgettable honeymoon has a special place in your memory—so specialthat you might be reluctant to try to repeat it. A new study in the Journal ofConsumer Research says people tend to treat their memories of previous specialexperiences as assets to be protected.
"When asked if they would like to return to a place where they had a 'particularlyspecial' versus 'pleasant but not particularly special' vacation or evening out,people were more interested in returning to the place where the initial event thatthey experienced was simply pleasant rather than truly special," write authors GalZauberman (University of Pennsylvania), Rebecca K. Ratner (University ofMaryland), and B. Kyu Kim (University of Pennsylvania).
The researchers say that participants did not want to taint their memories ofearlier special times. Unless researchers reassured the participants that the secondexperiences would be very similar to the initial experiences, they wereapprehensive about repeating them.
The study also looked at the motivations behind acquiring souvenirs, known inthe study as "memory pointers." For example, more participants said they wouldrather own a CD of their favorite band than a Mayan sculpture, unless they hadtaken a particularly meaningful trip to Mayan ruins. "Those considering a trip thatwas simply pleasant—for instance, with sunny weather and lots of time to read onthe beach but no meaningful experiences—did not feel the need to acquire thoseitems that they thought would help them remember the experience later."
"This desire to protect memories of meaningful experiences emerged even thoughparticipants thought that these experiences would be more memorable thanmundane experiences would be," conclude the authors.