Experienced and Remembered Pleasure for Meals: Duration Neglect but Minimal Peak, End (recency) or Primacy Effects

Rated liking for dishes consumed during a meal was compared with recalled liking in two studies using actual meals and one with an imagined meal. The effects on memory of the most pleasant dish, the first and last dishes, a rising vs. falling hedonic profile, and the time spent eating a dish were evaluated for similarity to effects seen in memories of pain. Across the three studies, there was consistent evidence for duration neglect (no effect of increased duration/exposure of the favorite component), and some weak evidence that patterns rising in liking are preferred to those falling in liking. In all three studies, there was no evidence for peak, primacy or recency effects. The existence of duration neglect implies that, with respect to memories of a meal, small portions of a highly favored dish will have roughly the same memorial effect as large portions.