Main menu For students For teachers Explore our subjects Student events & courses

Free Economics resources

Topics

Peak end rule

This is a psychological heuristic in which people frequently judge an experience largely based on how they felt at its peak (i.e., its most intense point) and at its end, rather than based on the total sum or average of every moment of the experience. For example, how a routine medical procedure ends or the sense of satisfaction at the end of a sporting match.