Samantha just finished giving an important presentation at work. She was quite nervous, and partway through the presentation forgot what she was supposed to say. She recovered and did really well and was feeling relaxed, until the end of the presentation when she had trouble answering a few questions. Everyone agreed that it was a good presentation, but Samantha remembered it as the most stressful work experience of her life. This is an example of what memory bias?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The peak-end rule is a psychological heuristic in which people 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. In Samantha's case, her memory of the presentation is heavily influenced by the stress she felt during the peak moment when she forgot what to say and at the end when she had trouble answering questions, despite the overall presentation being good.

Samantha Just Finished Giving an Important Presentation at Work