People judge experiences largely based on peak moments and endings.
Kahneman and Redelmeier's finding. Its practical consequence is counterintuitive: adding a mild period at the end of an unpleasant procedure improves the memory of it despite adding total discomfort.
In practice
- A support call that resolves the issue and ends with a curt sign-off is rated worse than a longer one that ends warmly.
- A conference remembered by its closing session and its worst moment, and not by the four adequate days in between.
- Further reading
- Wikipedia
- Subject
- Psychology & Behavior
- Essay
- A century and a half of measuring the mind