title: The unforeseen costs of extraordinary experience.
abstract: People seek extraordinary experiences--from drinking rare wines and taking exotic vacations to jumping from airplanes and shaking hands with celebrities. But are such experiences worth having? We found that participants thoroughly enjoyed having experiences that were superior to those had by their peers, but that having had such experiences spoiled their subsequent social interactions and ultimately left them feeling worse than they would have felt if they had had an ordinary experience instead. Participants were able to predict the benefits of having an extraordinary experience but were unable to predict the costs. These studies suggest that people may pay a surprising price for the experiences they covet most.
authors.affiliation: Harvard University.
authors.forename: Gus
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cooney
authors.affiliation: Harvard University gilbert@wjh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Daniel T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia.
authors.forename: Timothy D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: happiness; prediction; social interaction