WOULD your resentment last longer if your partner cheated on you or left dirty dishes in the sink? The question might seem like a no-brainer, but according to Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert, just about everyone gets the answer wrong. The dirty dishes ultimately prove more irksome.
Gilbert thinks we have built-in psychological mechanisms that kick in when we experience intense feelings. As a result, we often get over these feelings relatively quickly, whereas less intense feelings linger. So a wife might eventually forgive a cheating husband, but bear a lifelong grudge for a minor transgression. “Small events don’t spur us…
