The Third-Quarter Phenomenon: Do People Experience Discomfort After Stress Has Passed?

During the cold regions study project (Bechtel & Ledbetter, 1976), a number of anecdotes were encountered that did not get into the final report because of a lack of hard data. These anecdotes were supplied by chaplains, school teachers, police officers, and base commanders to the effect that the hardest part of the winter seemed to be in February, after the peak of winter cold had passed. The chaplains claimed that marital counseling reached a peak at this time, the police remembered more accidents and assaults, and base commanders thought there were more absences.