According to the peak-end rule, we judge our past experiences almost entirely on how they were at their peak (pleasant or unpleasant) and how they ended. Virtually all other information appears to be discarded, including net pleasantness or unpleasantness and how long the experience lasted.
For instance, if I go to an amusement park, this heuristic says that I will remember my trip by the height of excitement and the way I felt when I left. The classic experiment showing this phenomenon is described by Mr. Schwartz:
Participants in a laboratory study were asked to listen to a pair of very loud, unpleasant noises played through their headphones. One noise lasted for eight seconds. The other lasted sixteen. The first eight seconds of the second noise were identical to the first noise, whereas the second eight seconds, while still loud and unpleasant, were not as loud. Later, the participants were told that they would have to listen to one of the noises again, but that they could choose which one. Clearly the second noise is worse–the unpleasantness lasted twice as long. Nonetheless, the overwhelming majority of people chose the second to be repeated.
So, the peak-end rule is a vital one to bear in mind when designing your customer experience. Does it tail off at the end or is there a positive, strong end-of-experience event that sticks in people’s minds.
Some customer gurus say the first seven seconds are absolutely crucial. Why ‘seven’ I don’t know. And the old adage ‘first impressions count’ plus Malcolm Gladwell’s research for his book Blink, that says we make up our minds about things in split seconds, would tend to argue that you should focus when designing your customer experience on three critical points, not just the two that Kahneman finds. So, think ‘beginning-peak-end’ when designing the customer experience.
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