I would wager it's a combination of psychological factors: most people in the northern hemisphere prefer summer to winter, and falling back an hour in the fall

I would wager it's a combination of psychological factors: most people in the northern hemisphere prefer summer to winter, and falling back an hour in the fall in combination with the shorter days in general means that most people waking up hours before sunrise, which is unpleasant. (Shorter winter hours are universally unpleasant, so it's not obvious there's a good answer regardless.)