Nobel Prize–winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman and his colleagues have shown that what we remember about the pleasurable quality of our past experiences is almost entirely determined by two things: how the experiences felt when they were at their peak {best or worst}, and how they felt when they ended. This "peak-end" rule of Kahneman's is what we use to summarize the experience, and then we rely on that summary later to remind ourselves of how the experience felt.
Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman, alongside his research team, established that our recollections of enjoyable experiences are primarily influenced by two moments: the peak of the experience, either positive or negative, and its conclusion. This phenomenon is known as the "peak-end" rule. It dictates how we internally evaluate and remember experiences, shaping our overall perception long after the events have passed.
In Barry Schwartz's book, "The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less," this concept highlights the central role that these pivotal moments play in our memory and decision-making processes. When reflecting on past experiences, we tend to focus on the emotional high or low and the final moments, which serve as mental anchors for how we evaluate the entirety of those experiences.
