Memory and choice

Silvio Aldrovandi

Chapter 45 in Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Neuroscience and Management, 2026, pp 159-161 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Research on memory and decision-making shows that people's choices are guided less by the lived experience itself than by how it is remembered. Retrospective evaluations, shaped by the most intense and final moments of an event, often diverge from objective experience—a bias captured by the peak–end rule. These memory-based judgements influence future behaviour in contexts ranging from healthcare to management. Understanding the cognitive and neural mechanisms behind such evaluations, involving regions like the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, helps explain why remembered utility rather than experienced utility drives satisfaction and subsequent decision-making.

Keywords: Memory bias; Retrospective evaluation; Peak–end rule; Experienced utility; Remembered utility; Decision-making (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035332885
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