Principlev1
Capture moment-by-moment intensity ratings rather than
Capture moment-by-moment intensity ratings rather than retrospective summaries to bypass peak-end memory distortion and reveal actual temporal patterns.
Why This Is a Principle
Derives from Memory is reconstructive, not reproductive—humans rebuild (memory is reconstructive) and Retrospective memory of experience diverges systematically (retrospective memory diverges from real-time experience). Real-time intensity ratings produce accurate data about emotional experience across time; retrospective reports overweight peaks and recency, producing systematically distorted summaries.