The Peak-End Rule
How was last night’s party? When faced with such a question one often recalls the how much fun they had there or how terrible they felt when they crush was with someone else. People also remember on what note the party ended. But, no one remembers the playlist of songs or how many times they grabbed a drink. It’s not because one can’t remember all events but it is human nature to describe an activity keeping in mind the peak experiences and how the activity ended. This is called the peak-end rule.
Proof for the peak-end rule was given by a research conducted by Daniel Kahneman and Barbara Fredrickson. Groups of people were told to put their hands in cold water (14 C) for 60 seconds and then the same experiment was repeated but this time people had to put their hand in another tub of water at 15 C after the first one for 30 seconds. When asked which experiment they would prefer do again, 80% of the people favored putting their hand in cold water for 90 seconds in the second experiment. This clearly shows the significance of how an activity ends.
Climbing to the peak
When designing interfaces or experiences attention must be paid at peak points of the user journey to enhance positive response for the product. Highlighting moments of joy while using the product can increase the user’s affection towards it. Gamification is a very good example of this process. When a player completes a mission in a game his sense of victory and joy is enhanced by rewards given upon reaching the next level. One can help users achieve peak experiences by identifying the areas of importance in a user journey and altering them to increase fluidity or engagement.
When it comes to an end
All is well when end is well. Just like a great climax can turn a flop movie into a Hollywood blockbuster, a great end to any user experience increases the user’s loyalty and engagement with the product. This phenomenon is clearly evident in products where the end part of a user’s journey more fluid and fast in comparison to the rest of the experience. This allows the user to have a sense of satisfaction at the end of his journey. A great illustration celebrating the end of the journey sometimes does the trick.
Facing backfires
The peak-end rule can be used to improve a user’s opinion about a product, but when used inappropriately it can have some serious consequences. A user who does not experience any peak in the application/product is likely to switch to a competing service. We live in a saturated world and the peak-end experience one provides should be better than the competition. Another area where users get frustrated are during technical glitches. We cannot avoid them, but a proper message guiding users what to do during such glitches can prevent the experience ratings tipping towards the negative side.
Conclusion
The peak-end rule tells us how important it is to analyses the journey of the user and identify are where he/she expects to experience a peak. One drives on roads daily but the thrill of experiencing speed is what brings us occasionally to race tracks or roller coasters. So, a peak experience is one which is relatively better with respect to all the other activities the user performs. Designing with the customer journey in mind and a special emphasis of the end allows a user experience designer to create memorable experiences.
