The story is only as good as its ending. This saying is scientifically proven. So don't give up and end this year with a bang! There's still time.
This article is inspired by The Illusion of Choice. A book written by Richard Shotton about cognitive biases in marketing and everyday life. Read another article from this series.
Imagine you're at a dinner party at your mother-in-law's house. In the middle of an appetiser, you excuse yourself. You forgot something in your car. When you return, you hold a giant chocolate cake, her favourite. It's her 3rd anniversary since she won the best gardener award in her town. You remembered!
You talked and laughed all evening, but at one point, your discussion steered toward politics. You had a few glasses of wine and felt relaxed and free to share your opinion. "I honestly hate those ezo-maniacs revolting against vaccination!"
Suddenly, the room was utterly silent. Your partner was shaking. Your mother-in-law looked right through you into the abyss. What happened? You confusedly screen your surroundings for clues. Then, you noticed a giant crystal bowl on a shelf behind your mother-in-law's back.
It's been a year since this accident, but everybody remembers one thing from that party. Which one?
A. That you spent a lovely evening together, laughing for hours
B. The chocolate cake
C. Your comment
Not sure about the correct answer? Keep reading.
In 2003, Nobel Prize laureate Daniel Kahneman, along with Donald Redelmeier from the University of Toronto, conducted an experiment on colonoscopy patients.
How the researchers gained volunteers for this still baffles me. Nevertheless, every man participating got a recording device and wrote down their pain levels every minute of the procedure.
Later, when all was finished, the participant gave two more reviews describing the unpleasantness of the procedure: one was given immediately after and the other a month later.
According to the results, participants later did not recall the same level of pain they experienced during the procedure. They all, however, remembered two moments very well – the peak intensity of the pain and the end of the procedure.
This was not the first experiment Daniel Kahneman conducted on this topic. In 1993, he and Barbara Fredrickson, Charles Schreiber, and Donald Redelmeier created two equally unpleasant experiences for their participants.
During the first experiment, people had to put their hands in cool 14 °C water for 60 seconds.
During the second experiment, participants did the same but were then asked to keep their hands in the water for another 30 seconds. At the same time, the water temperature rose to 15 °C.
In the end, people had to choose which experiment to repeat. Surprisingly, a majority voted for the second, longer one. The memory of a better end overruled the fact that they endured the pain for much longer.
This is another example of people not being logical creatures. I love those, don't you?
(But beware, logic is a theoretical construct we invented. Not being logical does not mean humans are stupid. Everything we do, evolution taught us to do to survive. I felt like I should say that to defend our kind.)
The Peak-end rule
Daniel Kahneman calls this psychological heuristic the peak-end rule. According to his findings, we don't recall stuff linearly but according to the level of importance of every moment. Two of those moments always stand out:
People remember the peak and the end of every experience. We recall the best or worst moment and the final moment.
What is a heuristic?
Before we move on to a practical application of the peak-end rule in our lives, let's examine some of the terms you might have heard of (from me).
The first is a heuristic. This one is tricky because it means different things based on the type of expert you're talking to. A philosopher will understand it one way, and a lawyer or IT developer will understand it another.
Broadly speaking, a heuristic means a trial solution. When scientists don't have a proven procedure, they return to a trial-and-error approach like the rest of us. (I feel less stupid now.)
However, for those interested in behavioural sciences, the use of heuristics in psychology is key.
Here, heuristics describe deciding processes developed by evolution. We might not be aware of their existence, and they are usually not logical or rational.
They were created over millions of years in the prehistoric era to help the homo sapiens survive. In modern times, however, they might seem a bit silly sometimes.
A great example is social proof, as described by sociologist Robert Cialdini. This heuristic describes our tendencies to do what others do.
This was absolutely necessary in the prehistoric era because one could survive only as part of a group. Loners weren't so lucky to pass on their genes to us.
However, nowadays, especially in the individualistic times we now live in, people refuse to accept that they stepped on the road not because the walking light turned green but because others did it first.
The difference between a (psychological) heuristic and a (cognitive) bias
Another term you might hear me use often is a cognitive bias. I'll explain its meaning by describing the difference between a heuristic and a bias.
It's simple! Heuristic is the deciding process. Cognitive bias is the action that follows. One follows the other. First, you make a decision that scientists describe as a heuristic. Second, you make an action that scientists describe as biased.
Both terms are all about the same thing. People decide and do things we view as rational, but in reality, we are led by mental shortcuts made by evolution that saved our ancestors' lives in the prehistoric era, where we spent millions of years developing into the people we are now.
How you use the peak-end rule to your advantage
Prevent the negative peak.
People remember the peaks. And it doesn't matter if they are positive or negative. Also, according to marketing scientist Richard Shotton, we all have a negativity bias (and now you already know what bias means; I'm very proud of you).
It means we're more likely to remember negative information and give it more weight than positive information.
Do you recall our quiz at the beginning of the article? Option C was correct. Even though you made a nice gesture and brought the chocolate cake, the insulting comment was stronger. Nobody remembers your kindness now.
How to use this knowledge in everyday life? Remember that focusing on making a nice gesture is not enough. You have to ensure you won't commit anything atrocious that will overwrite the good deeds.
Let's see how some brands fulfilled this task.
Disney park
The most annoying thing in Disney Park is the long cues. Of course, Disney did not want people to remember this from their journey to a magical world.
So, they made the cues more fun.
In the Dumbo cue, people get a pager that buzzes when it's their turn. Till then, they can grab an ice cream or amuse themselves elsewhere.
In the cue for the Haunted Mansion, on the other hand, people could kill some time by solving a murder mystery.
Houston Airport
In the early 2000s, this airport was swamped with complaints about the waiting for their bags. At this point, travellers are tired, and waiting at the bags carousel is the last draw.
It was key to make this experience as pleasant as it could be. So, what do you think the airport engineers did? Added an ice cream stand? a Dumbo ride? No such thing.
They forced the passengers to go a longer route before reaching the bags carousel. This way, people walked for 8 minutes, and their bags were already there when they arrived.
Since when has walking in a long corridor been a good thing? Well, it worked. People stopped complaining. It seems that sometimes choosing the lesser evil actually works.
Make the positive peak even higher
Once you hide the unpleasant, your role is to make the pleasant even more impactful. I have a perfect example of how to do that.
A Magic Castle
According to TripAdvisor, Magic Castle is rated among the best hotels in Los Angeles, even though the hotel itself is basic. It is not luxurious, and there are no stunning views of the ocean.
The key to their success is a so-called popsicle helpline. Any time, day or night, you can pick up an old-fashioned red phone by the pool and ask for a treat.
Within a second, a man dressed as your local ice cream specials will appear with the finest popsicle selection on a silver platter.
It's extremely effective because you would not expect this beautiful moment in an ordinary hotel.
End on a high. Always
No matter how the first date went, your partner will remember how it ended. That's why we culturally emphasise the importance of a good night kiss. This moment will tell you whether there will be a date no. 2 after all.
The same rules apply to any other situation. The ending is simply something you will remember better than the rest of the experience. Use it to your advantage. Like the restaurant chain, Flat Iron did:
Flat Iron
When you pay at Flat Iron, a waiter gives you small ornamental steak knives and asks you to give them to the staff at the door. When you do so, you're rewarded with a salted caramel ice cream. A perfect last-minute is ensured.
Hope that with this article, I also end the year 2024 on a high.
Wish you all the best.
PF 2025
Correct answer: C. Your comment
Source: Richard Shotton | The Illusion of Choice
Read more: Be funny. Get money
Kahneman, Daniel; Fredrickson, Barbara L.; Schreiber, Charles A.; Redelmeier, Donald A. (1993). "When More Pain Is Preferred to Less: Adding a Better End". Psychological Science. 4 (6): 401–405. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1993.tb00589.x. S2CID 8032668.
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