Members in the Media
From: Pacific Standard

Savor Extraordinary Experiences, Feel Worse Afterward

Pacific Standard:

Feeling out of sorts this morning? Maybe it was that recent trip you took to Machu Picchu.

Sure, it was fun at the time—amazing, really. But it’s not like you could truly share the experience of high-altitude awe with your friends and colleagues. As they compared amusing stories about bad camping trips, you began feeling not so much special and privileged as … left out.

If that story describes you, congratulations: You’ve just discovered the surprising downside of engaging in a rare and wonderful adventure.

“Extraordinary experiences have two consequences, one of which may be more obvious than the other,” a research team led by Harvard University psychologist Gus Cooney writes in a study just published in the journal Psychological Science.

Read the whole story: Pacific Standard

More of our Members in the Media >


APS regularly opens certain online articles for discussion on our website. Effective February 2021, you must be a logged-in APS member to post comments. By posting a comment, you agree to our Community Guidelines and the display of your profile information, including your name and affiliation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations present in article comments are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of APS or the article’s author. For more information, please see our Community Guidelines.

Please login with your APS account to comment.