Kahnemann et al. (1993) Flashcards
Explain one bias in thinking and decision-making with reference to one study.
Aim
To explore the peak-end rule. It suggests people judge an experience largely based on how they felt at its peak (the most intense point) and at its end, rather than based on the total or average pain experienced throughout the event. This is suggested
Procedure, Design & Results
Repeated measures experiment with participants going through 2 conditions. The first condition involved participants placing their hand into cold water for 60 seconds and at the end of the 60 seconds, they then transferred their hand to a warm towel. In the second condition, participants once again placed their hand in cold water for the first 60 seconds and then an additional 30 seconds was added in which the researchers allowed hot water to flow into the cold water. At the end of the participants going through both conditions, participants were then asked which condition they would repeat. 80% of participants chose to repeat condition 2. This is a clear example of the peak-end rule because participants chose to repeat condition 2 purely based on the ending despite it involving being in discomfort for a longer time.