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Abstract Experiences often consist of a number of temporally separated events or outcomes, events which might be positive or negative. Building on previous research, the present paper proposes that the chronological order of the component events influences overall evaluations of these experiences. In particular, a preference for happy endings is hypothesized such that an experience consisting of a positive and a negative event is evaluated as more satisfactory if the positive event occurs last. This preference is examined in three studies in a variety of contexts. A preference for happy endings is shown to influence people's preferences, even to the extent of influencing preferences for segregated versus integrated events (Thaler, 1985). The implications of a preference for happy endings for decision researchers are also explored.
Ross et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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