Some fascinating research reported on NPR explains why the ride TO destination often feels longer than the ride back. It’s called the “return trip effect.”
Niels van de Ven, a psychologist at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, says the conventional wisdom that the trip back seems shorter because it’s more familiar is false. According to NPR reporter Joe Palca, here’s what van de Ven thinks is going on: “Often we see that people are too optimistic when they start to travel,” he says. So when they finish the outbound trip, they feel like it took longer than they expected. That feeling of pessimism carries over to when they’re ready to return home. “So you start the return journey, and you think, ‘Wow, this is going to take a long time.'” And then, it doesn’t.
Is that why so many people prefer nostalgia over reality?