Thinking, Fast and Slow

Chapter 35 introduces Kahneman’s idea that we have two “selves”, an experiencing self and a remembering self (these selves do not correspond in any way with the two “systems” discussed previously).

The remembering self is ultimately in charge of making decisions, which effectively means we make decisions to maximize future memories rather than future experiences. This is a result of the peak-end rule, by which people’s memories are determined by the peak pleasure or pain of an experience and/or the way the experience ended, and by the remembering self’s neglect of durational concerns.

Discussing an experiment that required holding one’s hand in painfully cold water, Kahneman explains that we will often select experiences that are more painful in absolute terms because they leave us with better memories (or less memory of the pain). He calls this the “tyranny of the remembering self” and explains that it appears to have very deep evolutionary roots.

In this short chapter Kahneman emphasizes the importance of the peak-end rule and duration neglect as they apply to stories (such as an opera) and to the evaluation of a life. Most notably, experimental research has shown that adding five extra years of mild happiness to an otherwise happy life led to a significant decrease in subject’s evaluation of the quality of that life.