People tend to judge and remember experiences based on how they felt at the peak and at the end of it. This psychological phenomenon is known as the peak-end-rule. The model was first proposed by Barbara Fredrickson and Daniel Kahneman. Today we know that how well the rule works also depends on our expectation going into the experience.
Definition
The peak–end rule is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when people judge an experience largely on how they felt at its peak and its end. There are two reasons for this.
More emotionally intense events lead to better memories than less intense events. So if you experience a drama, the peak is what’s most moving, and to the mind that’s the most vivid mental snapshot.
We have a better memory of the end of a sequence — a phenomena known as recency bias. If you get to eat 3 different desserts in a row, the second dessert forms a new memory that makes it harder for you to recall the first. And when you’ve finished all three, your brain remembers the last one most clearly. However, the rule does not always work.
the lead factor
As we go into an experience, our expectations play a lead role. If they are initially not met, our prediction error can affect our perception of what’s about to come next — including the peak. But for now, let’s assume that everything goes according to plan.
Say you go eat out at a cheap diner, and your expectations are low. Then, the memory of your evening will be formed by the peak and the end. The dry salad, the bad music, and the dirty bathroom are long forgotten. Later you might rate the experience as exceptional. But what if your expectations are not met?
If you go out to eat at an expensive restaurant, you can have high expectations. If the initial experience doesn’t meet them, your mind decides that the place isn’t that good after all, and you’ll see everything through an overly critical lens. The peak is discounted, the end outrageous, and then the overall experience is rated poorly.
So if expectations are low, the rule works. If they are high, it’s important that they are met right at the start.
scientific experiment
Evidence for the rule was established through an experiment in which people were subjected to an unpleasant experience in two different ways.
The first trial had people submerge a hand in cold water for 60 seconds. In a second trial people put their hand in the same cold water for the same amount of time, but then kept it there for another 30 seconds, during which the temperature was raised by about 1° celsius. The subjects were then offered the option of which of the two trials to repeat. And as it turns out, they were more willing to repeat the second trial, despite the prolonged exposure to the cold water.
conclusion
Kahneman, Fredrickson, Schreiber, and Redelmeier, who conducted the study in 1993, concluded that “people chose the long trial simply because they liked the memory of it better than the alternative”.
If you happen to run a restaurant and manage to meet your customers expectations, you can create a wonderful peak, finish with a fantastic end and deliver an experience that’s not only excellent, but will also be remembered as such.
what do you think?
Now what do you think about the rule? And did you ever make your own peak-end experience? Please share your thoughts and what you remember from this video in the comments below!
Sources
- Peak-end rule – Wikipedia.org
- Strijbosch, W., Mitas, O., van Gisbergen, M., Doicaru, M., Gelissen, J., & Bastiaansen, M. (2019). From Experience to Memory: On the Robustness of the Peak-and-End-Rule for Complex, Heterogeneous Experiences. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 1705.
- Kahneman, D., Fredrickson, B. L., Schreiber, C. A., & Redelmeier, D. A. (1993). When More Pain Is Preferred to Less: Adding a Better End. Psychological Science, 4(6), 401–405.
Dig deeper!
- Read how prediction errors shape perception, attention, and motivation
- Read about the recency bias
- Read about memory segmentation and immediate post-segmentation replay
- Read about recent research on the peak-end-rule
- Read the original study “When more pain is preferred to less”
Classroom activity
In the following activity students will learn about the peak-end-rule and memory segmentation
- Present the class with the original experiment of Fredrickson and Kahneman: People need to put their hands in cold water for 60 seconds in a trial. In a second one they put their hands in water of the same temperature for 60 seconds, and then are asked to keep it there for 30 additional seconds, during which the water rises by 1 degree Celsius. People were then asked which trial they wanted to repeat.
- Ask the class which trial they think people preferred to repeat by a show of hands or a clicker if available.
- Show the class Sprouts’ video on the peak-end-rule.
- Provide the answer to the original question: more people preferred option 2 because of the peak-end-rule.
- Ask the class if they had experiences where they think the peak-end-rule applied to them.
- Ask the class what they remember of the video and what made them like or dislike it. Were they affected by the peak-end-rule?
