The gestalt characteristics of experiences that extend over time: A further analysis

The literature on how people evaluate their sequential experiences makes two contrasting observations. On the one hand, the literature suggests that some of the key findings, such as the preference for an improving sequence, are persistent effects. On the other hand, an emerging, critical literature has pointed out that such effects are highly conditional on a number of factors, such as the sequence domain. The presence of such factors could moderate the preference for improvement. The objective of the studies in this thesis was to explore the role of such factors on people’s evaluations of sequences of delays. The results of the studies suggested that gestalt theories such as the preference for improvement in a sequence of delays are not always applicable, but instead conditional on many factors, such as the duration of delays, the degree to which delays prevented task achievement, and people’s expectations of how delays are usually experienced.