Duration neglect is the cognitive bias where individuals judge the unpleasantness of painful experiences with little regard to the duration of those experiences. Research suggests that people primarily rely on the peak (the most painful moment) and the end of the experience to evaluate it, leading to the notion known as the 'peak-end rule'. This means that how quickly the pain diminishes also influences how painful the experience is perceived, rather than the overall duration of the pain itself.
Daniel Kahneman and Barbara Fredrickson demonstrated duration neglect through an experiment where subjects placed their hands in painfully cold water. Most participants preferred to keep their hands in the cold water for an additional 30 seconds if it meant ending on a less painful note, showcasing how they judged the experience based on its peak and end rather than its total duration.
To mitigate duration neglect, individuals can be asked to evaluate experiences in graphical format or provide ratings at regular intervals throughout the experience, making duration more salient in their assessments.