False nostalgia is the cognitive bias that leads us to incorrectly remember the past, portraying it as more favorable than it was. False nostalgia is a dangerous disconnect between experience and recollection. While it’s easy to notice when others are wearing rose-colored-glasses, it is much harder to recognize this fallacy in ourselves.
Some examples of false nostalgia in the world include:
- Believing a business strategy was clear and evident all along, neglecting the time spent pursuing other strategies or the multitude of other options considered
- Remembering the euphoria of finishing a marathon, but not any of the pain throughout the race
- Selectively recalling the highs of a past romantic relationship, and not all the lows
There is a danger in falling victim to false nostalgia. Here’s why:
- We may draw conclusions overly influenced from our own positive memories, which could vary significantly from the experience of others;
- We may overlook the deliberate choices that constructed the environment we recall fondly, and why those choices were made at that time;
- And, perhaps most importantly, this cognitive bias may hinder our ability to recognize the need for change today.
During my camp tour, I often heard false nostalgia come up in conversations as…
- “Back in my day, campers had more respect for the rules”
- “Camp staff used to be wayyy more engaged, I don’t know what’s happened”
- “We’ve always organized X this way, we’d be sacrificing tradition if we made this change”
- “Camp used to be Y, and now its Z”
The downsides of false nostalgia can be mitigated at camp (and in business overall) by deliberate action. My three best recommendations are:
- Recommendation 1: Question tradition
- I’ve mentioned the importance of using things “on the shelf,” but before you rinse-and-repeat what you’ve done before… ask yourself WHY you do things this way. Oftentimes what is sensible last year remains sensible this year, but make the unconscious conscious by revisiting the reasons behind your program’s key tenets. One way to do this is by explaining to another staff member why a certain activity is structured the way it is, and then asking them how they might improve it.
- Recommendation 2: Conduct After-Action-Reviews
- After taking Stew Friedman’s class “Leading Effective Teams“, I became a disciple of the After-Action-Review. Following each event/meeting/milestone, write down 1) what went well and 2) what could be improved. Solicit input from other stakeholders if possible (staff, parents, campers, etc.). Recording both the positives and negatives of an occasion can limit our recollection bias and propel continued growth, so catalog these findings in a way that can be easily referenced in the future.
- Recommendation 3: Set a culture of continuous improvement
- Communicate to staff, parents, and campers at the beginning of each summer that there have been improvements made to camp this year. “Most traditions have been maintained but a few tweaks should improve the overall camp experience and our newly introduced traditions are sure to be a blast.” This culture of continuous improvement is likely to be appreciated, however former-camper staff members may be your largest obstacles here, perhaps believing “the way I remember camp was the best way camp can be run.” Preempt these challenges by continuously seeking out feedback from staff and loudly communicating when feedback is incorporated.
The Camp Consultant 
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