{"id":56103,"date":"2021-12-26T18:23:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-26T22:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=56103"},"modified":"2021-12-27T13:28:12","modified_gmt":"2021-12-27T17:28:12","slug":"peak-experiences-psychology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/","title":{"rendered":"The Psychology of Peak Experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What is a peak experience? Can you think of a particularly memorable experience from your past? What made it a &#8220;peak experience&#8221;?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Peak experiences transcend everyday patterns and impart positive feelings like delight, motivation, and engagement. Some of these positive peaks naturally occur in everyday life but they don&#8217;t have to be spontaneous. According to Chip and Dan Heath, the authors of <em>The Power of Moments<\/em>, you can engineer these experiences through what they call &#8220;elevation.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here, Chip and Dan Heath explain the psychology behind peak experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-to-elevate-everyday-moments\">How to Elevate Everyday Moments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The book<em> The Power of Moments <\/em>explains the psychology of peak experiences well. According to the Heaths, peak experiences are elevated moments that you look back on fondly. Some of these positive peaks are naturally occurring in social moments like weddings and graduations, performance moments like playing in a big game or giving a talk in your field of expertise, and spontaneous moments like an unexpected upgrade on your flight. <strong>However, <em>most<\/em> experiences don\u2019t have natural positive peaks\u2014but you can <em>add <\/em>positive peaks to them by choosing one or two moments to elevate thoughtfully.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While elevating certain moments will take a bit of extra effort, they\u2019re worth the trouble\u2014their absence, an endless routine lacking \u201cpeakiness,\u201d leads to boredom and disengagement<strong>.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Think of a dull relationship that stretches on for years. Everything\u2019s fine, but nothing new ever happens. Eventually, you both mentally check out and decide to call it quits. Or, you spend years working in a job where every week feels exactly the same\u2014it feels soul-sucking, and you start looking for work elsewhere.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Using elevation to produce novel, memorable events is key to creating experiences that foster positive feelings and increase engagement. <strong>The Heaths identify three ways to use elevation: increase sensory pleasure, raise the stakes, and go off script with strategic surprise. Successful, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-do-we-remember-certain-things-but-forget-others\/\">memorable moments<\/a> incorporate<em> at least<\/em> two of these methods.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-method-1-increase-sensory-pleasure\"><strong>Method 1: Increase Sensory Pleasure<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-first-way\/\">The first way<\/a> the Heaths suggest elevating a moment is with <em>increased sensory pleasure<\/em>\u2014that is, making a moment look, feel, taste, or sound better than what you\u2019re used to.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>For instance, getting dressed up to go out to a fancy restaurant looks, feels, and tastes different from eating in your sweatpants on the couch.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sensory differences make memories stick<\/strong>. This is because a sensory upgrade is a type of <em>novelty<\/em>\u2014it forces the brain to re-engage, process more information, and make the experience richer and more memorable.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The authors note that upping the sensory appeal of a moment doesn\u2019t need to be expensive or extravagant\u2014it can be as simple as a team leader conducting her employees\u2019 year-end meetings in a park instead of in her office, or a rabbi <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2020\/05\/16\/856819558\/for-some-zoom-bar-and-bat-mitzvahs-highlight-most-meaningful-and-memorable-momen\">delivering the Torah to a synagogue member\u2019s home<\/a> during the COVID-19 pandemic so that his bar mitzvah would <em>physically feel<\/em> special, even if it needed to be done by video.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Which Senses Should You Elevate?<\/strong><br><br>The Heaths don\u2019t discuss <em>which<\/em> sensory appeals work best, but numerous studies have concluded that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.livescience.com\/why-smells-trigger-memories.html\">memory links most strongly to your sense of smell<\/a>. You can use this information to engineer small, special moments in a variety of contexts. For example:<br><br>You wear a certain \u201cdate night\u201d perfume or cologne to make outings with your partner feel more special\u2014and, each time you smell it, you\u2019ll recall memories of past outings.&nbsp;<br><br>You bake a certain type of cookie every Friday afternoon with your kids to celebrate the coming weekend. The moment stands out against the rest of the week, and your kids will recall it every time they smell that type of cookie in the future.<br><br>Many organizations invest a lot of money <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2018\/04\/inside-the-invisible-but-influential-world-of-scent-branding\">in <em>scent branding<\/em><\/a> to evoke certain emotions in their clients, make clients feel that their products are high-quality, and ensure that their clients recall their brand whenever they encounter a certain scent.&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-method-2-heighten-the-stakes\"><strong>Method 2: Heighten the Stakes&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/feedback-cycle\/\">The second way<\/a> to elevate a moment is to <em>raise the stakes<\/em>. The Heaths explain that adding high stakes to a situation makes an otherwise flat, unengaging experience into a standout, exciting experience\u2014for instance when you look back at your high school career, you\u2019ll more likely remember your debate team championship than your algebra classes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: One reason that high-stakes experiences stand out in your memory may be that the prospect of a high reward forces your brain to use <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/23448876\/\">long-term memory to \u201chelp out\u201d your short-term working memory.<\/a> As a result, your attention is more fully focused on the event\u2014your brain re-engages in order to process all the information you\u2019re taking in.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Raising the Stakes Effectively<\/strong><br><br>Raising the stakes can seem like the same thing as increasing <em>stress<\/em>, but this line of thinking is a mistake. Stress not only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/npjscilearn201611\">has a strong negative impact on memory recall<\/a>, but it\u2019s also usually not particularly meaningful. High-stakes situations that aren\u2019t enjoyable or rewarding in any way cause stress.&nbsp;&nbsp;For example, assigning your students an oral presentation that counts for 50% of their grade raises the stakes of an assignment by adding stress. The students won\u2019t look back on the experience as a positive one\u2014among the other stresses of their academic careers, it likely won\u2019t stand out at all.&nbsp;<br><br><strong>To raise the stakes effectively, focus on increasing <em>productive pressure<\/em>: Pressure that\u2019s interesting or fun in some way.<\/strong><em> <\/em>Most experiences during students\u2019 academic careers are focused on grades\u2014productive pressure shifts the focus in a novel direction, toward <em>fun<\/em>. Rather than blending into the everyday stress of school, a fun experience stands out in students\u2019 memories for years to come.<br><br>Let\u2019s reimagine the oral presentation: You have each of your students choose a personal hero to interview. Instead of having each student give their presentation in the classroom like regular presentations, you organize a \u201cHero Day\u201d in the auditorium. Each student\u2019s interview subject is invited to come to the special event where they\u2019ll listen to the speeches and mingle at an afterparty. Hero Day adds <em>productive pressure<\/em> to the presentation\u2014with the added pressure of having their heroes listening in on their work, the students feel excitement in putting together a presentation that best represents someone they look up to.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-method-3-go-off-script\"><strong>Method 3: Go Off Script<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The last method of elevating a moment is <em>going off script<\/em>, which the Heaths define as acting in a way that goes against what people expect. <strong>Of the three methods of elevation, going off script takes the most effort but is usually the most worthwhile: <\/strong>Recall our discussion of the \u201creminiscence bump\u201d\u2014the most memorable times of your life are due to going off script, encountering something unexpected and new as a result.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The idea that going off script takes extra effort may be confusing at first glance. It doesn\u2019t seem so hard to come up with the occasional novel experience or fun surprise every now and then. The problem with this thinking is the assumption that you can meaningfully elevate an experience with cheap, easy surprises.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>For example, you bring cupcakes to your weekly HR team meeting on improving employee experience. It\u2019s a nice gesture, but the surprise won\u2019t be memorable or meaningful as long as the rest of the meeting unfolds the same exact way it always does.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Going off script in a way that\u2019s meaningful and memorable requires <\/strong><strong><em>strategic surprises<\/em><\/strong><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Cheap, easy surprises are almost-predictable events\u2014having a snack at a meeting is overall, an unremarkable event. In contrast, strategic surprises are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/forbescoachescouncil\/2017\/10\/24\/leadership-and-the-power-of-surprise\/?sh=3cd5f34525c9\">surprises that break behavioral patterns in a way that challenges assumptions about what comes next and draws the audience in<\/a>.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-you-avoid-novel-experiences-and-why-you-should-lean-into-them\"><strong>Why You Avoid Novel Experiences\u2014And Why You Should Lean Into Them&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>As much as going off script can benefit you, it\u2019s human nature to gravitate toward the comfort of familiar scripts. It\u2019s harder to start taking the family rock climbing every Saturday than it is to sleep in and watch cartoons.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>We avoid novelty because of <em>the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/endless-chain-method-familiarity-bias\/\">familiarity bias<\/a><\/em>\u2014familiar situations feel less threatening than new ones. Numerous psychologists have looked into this phenomenon: In 1991, a study by Chip Heath and Amos Tversky found that when given a choice between two gambles, <a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/BF00057884\">people are more likely to choose the one that\u2019s more familiar to them<\/a>\u2014even if their odds of winning are lower.&nbsp;In his book <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/thinking-fast-and-slow\/part-1-2\"><em>Thinking, Fast and Slow<\/em><\/a><em>, <\/em>psychologist Dan Kahneman discusses the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/thinking-fast-and-slow\/part-1-2\"><em>mere exposure effect<\/em><\/a>: The more contact we have with something, the more we like it.&nbsp;<br><br>Despite our preference for familiarity, novelty is often the <em>better choice<\/em> because it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.productiveflourishing.com\/bust-your-familiarity-bias\/\">multiplies your memorable experiences, helps you develop new perspectives, and expands your problem-solving skills<\/a>. Furthermore, it helps you learn <em>risk tolerance<\/em>\u2014which is vital to meaningful moments defined by insight, as we\u2019ll see in the following chapter.&nbsp;<br>If you find yourself resisting novel experiences, think of it this way: Of all ways you could learn about confronting risk, moments of delight are the most enjoyable ways to do so.&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-elevation-is-especially-hard-to-pull-off\"><strong>Why Elevation Is Especially Hard to Pull Off<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Heaths note that many people balk at the idea of creating moments defined by elevation because they require thoughtful effort\u2014no one <em>wants<\/em> to take on the extra work they require. People often talk themselves out of making the effort for two reasons:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-the-moment-isn-t-urgent\"><strong>1) The Moment Isn\u2019t Urgent<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Because elevation is fun and doesn\u2019t feel especially urgent, it\u2019s easy to let tasks that feel more urgent or important\u2014such as meetings or grading a pile of unmarked essays\u2014take precedence over the work of creating a defining moment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-the-moment-seems-too-complicated\"><strong>2) The Moment Seems Too Complicated<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Practicality has the power to bring a great idea\u2019s \u201cpeak potential\u201d down to a very unremarkable bump. Elevated moments are often more logistically complicated than business as usual, so it\u2019s all too easy to wave them off as unreasonable and offer up an easier (but less delightful) experience in their place.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Heaths suggest ignoring practicality in favor of putting effort into delightful ideas. <strong>Otherwise, the experience you imagine <\/strong><strong><em>will <\/em><\/strong><strong>be replaced by the least logistically complicated option.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Imagine if the owner of the airport hotel decided that he didn\u2019t want to shell out the money to surprise guests with their favorite drinks. It would have been easy to scrap that idea and simply offer free sodas in the room\u2019s mini-fridge. As practical as the second option is, it wouldn\u2019t have created a positive peak in guests\u2019 minds and certainly wouldn\u2019t prompt them to write rave reviews.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We can all think of places in our lives where we have let practicality win. You and your friend have been thinking about a road trip for ages, but it just seems like too much work. You have to plan the route, rent a car, take time off work, plan your budget&#8230;you decide it would be more practical to meet for coffee every weekend like you always do. By reaching for the least logistically complicated option, you miss out on the trip of a lifetime, rich with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/defining-moments-in-life\/\">defining moments<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is a peak experience? Can you think of a particularly memorable experience from your past? What made it a &#8220;peak experience&#8221;? Peak experiences transcend everyday patterns and impart positive feelings like delight, motivation, and engagement. Some of these positive peaks naturally occur in everyday life but they don&#8217;t have to be spontaneous. According to Chip and Dan Heath, the authors of The Power of Moments, you can engineer these experiences through what they call &#8220;elevation.&#8221; Here, Chip and Dan Heath explain the psychology behind peak experiences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":8354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,9,43],"tags":[546],"class_list":["post-56103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-psychology","category-self-improvement","tag-the-power-of-moments","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Psychology of Peak Experiences - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Peak experiences transcend everyday patterns in positive ways. Here, Chip and Dan Heath explain the psychology behind peak experiences.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Psychology of Peak Experiences\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Peak experiences transcend everyday patterns in positive ways. Here, Chip and Dan Heath explain the psychology behind peak experiences.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-26T22:23:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-12-27T17:28:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/clif-breath-air-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1703\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Darya Sinusoid\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46\"},\"headline\":\"The Psychology of Peak Experiences\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-26T22:23:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-27T17:28:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/\"},\"wordCount\":1889,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/clif-breath-air-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"The Power of Moments\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Lifestyle\",\"Psychology\",\"Self-Improvement\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/\",\"name\":\"The Psychology of Peak Experiences - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/clif-breath-air-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-26T22:23:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-27T17:28:12+00:00\",\"description\":\"Peak experiences transcend everyday patterns in positive ways. Here, Chip and Dan Heath explain the psychology behind peak experiences.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/clif-breath-air-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/clif-breath-air-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1703},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Psychology of Peak Experiences\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46\",\"name\":\"Darya Sinusoid\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Untitled-design-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Untitled-design-1.png\",\"caption\":\"Darya Sinusoid\"},\"description\":\"Darya\u2019s love for reading started with fantasy novels (The LOTR trilogy is still her all-time-favorite). Growing up, however, she found herself transitioning to non-fiction, psychological, and self-help books. She has a degree in Psychology and a deep passion for the subject. She likes reading research-informed books that distill the workings of the human brain\/mind\/consciousness and thinking of ways to apply the insights to her own life. Some of her favorites include Thinking, Fast and Slow, How We Decide, and The Wisdom of the Enneagram.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/darya\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Psychology of Peak Experiences - Shortform Books","description":"Peak experiences transcend everyday patterns in positive ways. Here, Chip and Dan Heath explain the psychology behind peak experiences.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Psychology of Peak Experiences","og_description":"Peak experiences transcend everyday patterns in positive ways. Here, Chip and Dan Heath explain the psychology behind peak experiences.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2021-12-26T22:23:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-12-27T17:28:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1703,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/clif-breath-air-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Darya Sinusoid","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Darya Sinusoid","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/"},"author":{"name":"Darya Sinusoid","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46"},"headline":"The Psychology of Peak Experiences","datePublished":"2021-12-26T22:23:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-27T17:28:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/"},"wordCount":1889,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/clif-breath-air-scaled.jpg","keywords":["The Power of Moments"],"articleSection":["Lifestyle","Psychology","Self-Improvement"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/","name":"The Psychology of Peak Experiences - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/clif-breath-air-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2021-12-26T22:23:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-27T17:28:12+00:00","description":"Peak experiences transcend everyday patterns in positive ways. Here, Chip and Dan Heath explain the psychology behind peak experiences.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/clif-breath-air-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/clif-breath-air-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1703},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peak-experiences-psychology\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Psychology of Peak Experiences"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46","name":"Darya Sinusoid","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Untitled-design-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Untitled-design-1.png","caption":"Darya Sinusoid"},"description":"Darya\u2019s love for reading started with fantasy novels (The LOTR trilogy is still her all-time-favorite). Growing up, however, she found herself transitioning to non-fiction, psychological, and self-help books. She has a degree in Psychology and a deep passion for the subject. She likes reading research-informed books that distill the workings of the human brain\/mind\/consciousness and thinking of ways to apply the insights to her own life. Some of her favorites include Thinking, Fast and Slow, How We Decide, and The Wisdom of the Enneagram.","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/darya\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/clif-breath-air-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56103"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57143,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56103\/revisions\/57143"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}