Experiences are not remembered equally, our memories are encoded with the experiences (both positive and negative) at their peak ‘most intense’ point and their ending ‘concluding moment’.
Participants experienced both of the following conditions:
Hand submerged in 14°C ice water for 30 seconds.
Hand submerged in 14°C ice water for 30 seconds followed by an additional 30 seconds while the water heated up to 15°C.
When asked which trial they wished to repeat, subjects actually counter-intuitively opted for the second, longer condition.
That is, exactly the same amount of time in the colder water, only to end a little warmer.
Excerpt from: The Unseen Mind by Ogilvy Change
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