First impressions vs. The Peak-End Rule: Episodic evaluations in a service experience and the moderating effect of retrospective delay
This paper sets two accounts of how a service experience is judged against each other. One holds that the first moments dominate, since an early impression colours everything that follows. The other is the peak-end rule, under which the most intense moment and the final moment carry the judgment. The title's addition is the condition that decides between them: how much time passes before the judgment is made. That fits what is known about both mechanisms, since a first impression operates while the experience is happening and the peak-end pattern is a property of memory, which takes time to consolidate. The practical implication for anyone designing a service is that the moment you ask determines what you learn. Written without an abstract, from the title and the peak-end literature summarised here.
This paper sets two accounts of how a service experience is judged against each other. One holds that the first moments dominate, since an early impression colours everything that follows. The other is the peak-end rule, under which the most intense moment and the final moment carry the judgment. The title's addition is the condition that decides between them: how much time passes before the judgment is made. That fits what is known about both mechanisms, since a first impression operates while the experience is happening and the peak-end pattern is a property of memory, which takes time to consolidate. The practical implication for anyone designing a service is that the moment you ask determines what you learn. Written without an abstract, from the title and the peak-end literature summarised here.
Written from the the paper's title and the peak-end literature already summarised here.
What our sources record
Reproduced as it was written when this source was checked, figures and all.
McCullough, H., Padgett, D., Han, S., Lee, K., Martin, D. S. & Bourdeau, B. L. (2024). "First impressions vs. the peak-end rule: episodic evaluations in a service experience and the moderating effect of retrospective delay." Journal of Business Research, 185. Field data on over 5,000 hotel stays across five years. First impressions were the strongest contributor and grew more important as retrospective delay increased. The first author's full forename has not been established, which is why the study is described rather than named in the body.
Where we use it
- Why You Remember the End of a Holiday and Not the Middle, Why We Come Back
Reliability of this reference
The link below was matched against the publisher's record on title, first author and year, and all three agree.
The source
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114899
DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114899