Survey study, 1989
Do women's beliefs about PMS affect their memory of their symptoms?
Yes. Women who believed PMS causes distress remembered their menstrual symptoms as worse than their daily records actually showed. Physical symptoms varied by cycle phase, but mood symptoms did not.
What they did
Women completed daily questionnaires about physical and mood symptoms. Later, some recalled symptoms from a menstrual day and others from a non-menstrual day (both recalled during the non-menstrual phase). They also answered questions about their beliefs about how menstruation affects them.
What they found
Women who believed in menstrual distress exaggerated the negativity of their symptoms when recalling their menstrual period. Daily ratings showed physical symptoms varied with menstrual cycle phase, whereas affective symptoms did not. On average, women exaggerated the degree to which they experience changes during menstruation.
What it means for you
Our beliefs about PMS can distort how we remember symptoms. Some reported PMS might be memory bias rather than actual symptoms. Physical symptoms do genuinely vary by cycle, but mood may not. This finding relies on how accurately people can remember their past.
About the study
- Original title
- Women's theories of menstruation and biases in recall of menstrual symptoms
- Authors
- McFarland C, Ross M, DeCourville N
- Journal
- Journal of personality and social psychology
- Year
- 1989
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- None, observational with daily tracking and recall
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.57.3.522
Topics
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