What is the 'duration neglect' phenomenon? What results did Redelmeier and Kahneman (1996) find in their study of remembered pain of colonoscopy procedures?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer is

\bullet

Remembering self pays little attention to time.

\bullet

When remembering experiences, moments are not created equally. Our memories depend particularly on the peak intensity and on how episodes ended.

\bullet

An hour after the procedure, patients rated the 'total amount of pain experienced'. Objectively, patients who experienced longer procedures experienced more pain, because it lasted longer (see Figure 2.3). However, the study found that actual time was unrelated to patients' ratings of 'total pain'. Total pain ratings depended more on how the procedures ended (high or low pain) and how bad the very worst (peak) moment was.

\bullet

A follow-up study asked doctors to try making some colonoscopies last longer-creating objectively more pain-by keeping the camera relatively still in the rectum, and thus creating a mild ending to the procedure. Compared to participants who had regular, shorter and objectively less painful procedures, the experimental group with mild endings reported substantially less pain.

What Is the 'Duration Neglect' Phenomenon? What Results Did Redelmeier