Sweet on science? You'll want to know about a yummy new study in which researchers used Hershey's Kisses to examine the provocative question: "Is the last always judged to be the best?"
Scientists at the University of Michigan gave students a handful of different flavored chocolates, one at a time, at random. Half of the students were told "Here is the last one," before receiving the fifth and final chocolate. The other half were told, "Here is the next one."
Researchers found that the fifth chocolate was rated as much more enjoyable when it was the "last" chocolate, versus when it was just the "next" chocolate. It was also rated as the favorite 64% of the time, no matter the actual flavor. The finding suggests that people do derive more pleasure from "lasts" than experiences that they don't expect to be their last.
