Abstract
Memory forms the input for future behavior. Therefore, how individuals remember a certain experience may be just as important as the experience itself. The peak-and-end-rule (PE-rule) postulates that remembered experiences are best predicted by the peak emotional valence and the emotional valence at the end of an experience in the here and now. The PE-rule, however, has mostly been assessed in experimental paradigms that induce relatively simple, one-dimensional experiences (e.g. experienced pain in a clinical setting). This hampers generalizations of the PE-rule to the experiences in everyday life. This paper evaluates the generalizability of the PE-rule to more complex and heterogeneous experiences by examining the PE-rule in a virtual reality (VR) experience, as VR combines improved ecological validity with rigorous experimental control. Findings indicate that for more complex and heterogeneous experiences, peak and end emotional valence are inferior to other measures (such as averaged valence and arousal ratings over the entire experiential episode) in predicting remembered experience. These findings suggest that the PE-rule cannot be generalized to ecologically more valid experiential episodes.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-12 |
| Journal | Frontiers in psychology |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 1705 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2019 |
Keywords
- experience
- memory
- experiencing self
- remembering self
- peak-and-end-rule
Cite this
}
From experience to memory: on the robustness of the peak-and-end-rule for complex, heterogeneous experiences. / Strijbosch, Wim; Mitas, Ondrej; Van Gisbergen, M.S.; Doicaru, Miruna; Gelissen, John P.T.M.; Bastiaansen, Marcel.
In: Frontiers in psychology, Vol. 10, No. 1705, 2019, p. 1-12.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - From experience to memory: on the robustness of the peak-and-end-rule for complex, heterogeneous experiences
AU - Strijbosch, Wim
AU - Mitas, Ondrej
AU - Van Gisbergen, M.S.
AU - Doicaru, Miruna
AU - Gelissen, John P.T.M.
AU - Bastiaansen, Marcel
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Memory forms the input for future behavior. Therefore, how individuals remember a certain experience may be just as important as the experience itself. The peak-and-end-rule (PE-rule) postulates that remembered experiences are best predicted by the peak emotional valence and the emotional valence at the end of an experience in the here and now. The PE-rule, however, has mostly been assessed in experimental paradigms that induce relatively simple, one-dimensional experiences (e.g. experienced pain in a clinical setting). This hampers generalizations of the PE-rule to the experiences in everyday life. This paper evaluates the generalizability of the PE-rule to more complex and heterogeneous experiences by examining the PE-rule in a virtual reality (VR) experience, as VR combines improved ecological validity with rigorous experimental control. Findings indicate that for more complex and heterogeneous experiences, peak and end emotional valence are inferior to other measures (such as averaged valence and arousal ratings over the entire experiential episode) in predicting remembered experience. These findings suggest that the PE-rule cannot be generalized to ecologically more valid experiential episodes.
AB - Memory forms the input for future behavior. Therefore, how individuals remember a certain experience may be just as important as the experience itself. The peak-and-end-rule (PE-rule) postulates that remembered experiences are best predicted by the peak emotional valence and the emotional valence at the end of an experience in the here and now. The PE-rule, however, has mostly been assessed in experimental paradigms that induce relatively simple, one-dimensional experiences (e.g. experienced pain in a clinical setting). This hampers generalizations of the PE-rule to the experiences in everyday life. This paper evaluates the generalizability of the PE-rule to more complex and heterogeneous experiences by examining the PE-rule in a virtual reality (VR) experience, as VR combines improved ecological validity with rigorous experimental control. Findings indicate that for more complex and heterogeneous experiences, peak and end emotional valence are inferior to other measures (such as averaged valence and arousal ratings over the entire experiential episode) in predicting remembered experience. These findings suggest that the PE-rule cannot be generalized to ecologically more valid experiential episodes.
KW - experience
KW - memory
KW - experiencing self
KW - remembering self
KW - peak-and-end-rule
U2 - 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01705
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01705
M3 - Article
VL - 10
SP - 1
EP - 12
JO - Frontiers in psychology
JF - Frontiers in psychology
SN - 1664-1078
IS - 1705
ER -