Atlas of Cognitive Biases #65 · People and ego. After the fact, your decision seems better
What it looks like in trading
remembering a trade as better justified than it was
“I knew from the start it was a good setup”
forgetting the doubts you had before entering
An example from a session
A trader remembers the entry as “textbook”. The voice note from the session (Journal #7) shows they had three doubts and entered in a hurry. Without the recording, memory would have turned it into a model decision.
What the research says
Mather and Johnson (2000): after choosing one of two options, participants attributed more positive features to the chosen option and more negative features to the rejected one than the descriptions contained. Memory shifted in favour of the choice.
After making a choice, we remember its advantages better and its drawbacks worse than they really were. Memory “improves” our decisions.
How does choice-supportive bias show up in trading?
Typical signs: remembering a trade as better justified than it was; “I knew from the start it was a good setup”; forgetting the doubts you had before entering.
Educational content, not psychological advice or an investment recommendation.