Dan's Thoughts: Halloween Disappointment
Well, Halloween is over, but here’s something to remember for next year.
A new study has found that if you give a trick-or-treater a full sized candy bar he’s happy, but if you give a trick-or-treater a candy bar and then a piece of bubble gum, he’s less happy. This flies in the face of logic. Shouldn’t two treats make you happier than one?
Not always. Turns out kids love candy bars. But they only like bubble gum. So afterward, when asked how they felt, they rated one treat better than two. The study, now published, was headed up by Psychologist George Wolford at Dartmouth College.
There are life lessons here.
One is always leave ‘em laughing. Two is always give the candy bar after you give the bubble gum.
Read the study, “Evaluations of pleasurable experiences: the peak–end rule,” here.