Analysing your IQ
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AKA: "Memory Distortion"
People judge an experience based on its most intense point and its ending, rather than the sum or average.
Peak-End Rule affects everyone, including (especially) people who think they're immune. The first step to fixing it is understanding how it works.
A great vacation with a terrible last day is remembered poorly. A painful procedure with a gentle ending is remembered as less painful.
This bias is particularly dangerous because it operates below conscious awareness. By the time you notice it, the damage is often done.
This error is driven by Memory compresses experiences into highlights; duration is neglected in retrospective evaluation..
The mechanism is rooted in memory compresses experiences into highlights; duration is neglected in retrospective evaluation.. Your brain isn't broken—it's running outdated software in a new environment.
In investing: Peak-End Rule leads to holding losing positions too long or selling winners too early.
In relationships: This bias causes people to interpret ambiguous signals in ways that confirm existing beliefs about partners.
In work: Peak-End Rule makes it harder to update strategies when market conditions change.
In health: People ignore symptoms that contradict their self-image as "healthy" or "young."
Peak-End Rule has been studied extensively since the cognitive revolution. Research consistently shows that even warned subjects fall for it—awareness alone doesn't provide immunity.
Design experiences for strong peaks and positive endings. When evaluating past experiences, review the full data.
Seek disconfirming evidence: Actively look for data that challenges your current belief.
Use decision journals: Write down predictions before outcomes are known, then review accuracy.
Consult diverse perspectives: People with different backgrounds spot different biases.
Implement decision rules: Pre-commit to criteria before emotionally charged situations arise.
Time-box decisions: Revisit important conclusions after a cooling-off period.
Some brains are more susceptible to this than others. Test your Emotional Health to find out.
People judge an experience based on its most intense point and its ending, rather than the sum or average.
The alternate name "Memory Distortion" captures the intuitive essence of the bias. Peak-End Rule is the formal psychological term, while "Memory Distortion" describes what it feels like in practice.
Design experiences for strong peaks and positive endings. When evaluating past experiences, review the full data.
The underlying mechanism is memory compresses experiences into highlights; duration is neglected in retrospective evaluation.. Human brains evolved heuristics for speed and survival, not accuracy in modern contexts.
Yes. Intelligence doesn't provide immunity—sometimes it makes the bias worse because smart people are better at rationalizing. Awareness and structured decision processes are more protective than raw IQ.
A great vacation with a terrible last day is remembered poorly. A painful procedure with a gentle ending is remembered as less painful.