I've written before about how happiness is reality over expectations. In essence, that means exceeded expectations results in happiness.
I've been noticing yet another example of this, while I read articles.
When I start reading an article, a quick glance at the size of the scroll bar or the length of the article in number of minutes (as shown on Medium), my mind anchors to that.
As I continue reading, sometimes, I end up finishing the article faster than the anchored time, and sometimes I take longer. And invariably, I'm a lot happier when I finish earlier than the expected time than when I finish later.
The estimated time for the cab to arrive once I book it follows a similar pattern. As it does with progress bars on software updates, etc.
There are thousands of such examples where expectations are set. And the user is always happier when they are exceeded and frustrated when they are not.
While exceeding expectations is naturally important, setting the right expectations in the first place is even more important.
I've been noticing yet another example of this, while I read articles.
When I start reading an article, a quick glance at the size of the scroll bar or the length of the article in number of minutes (as shown on Medium), my mind anchors to that.
As I continue reading, sometimes, I end up finishing the article faster than the anchored time, and sometimes I take longer. And invariably, I'm a lot happier when I finish earlier than the expected time than when I finish later.
The estimated time for the cab to arrive once I book it follows a similar pattern. As it does with progress bars on software updates, etc.
There are thousands of such examples where expectations are set. And the user is always happier when they are exceeded and frustrated when they are not.
While exceeding expectations is naturally important, setting the right expectations in the first place is even more important.
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