Why is it too difficult for us to focus on anything else when we know that we haven’t yet finished that last-minute Social science assignment? Why is it impossible for us to move on without completing that premium chocolate bar once we had a bite? Why does it always bother us that we couldn’t find closure in a relationship? People might have theories of their own, but ask a psychologist and the answer would be in a jiffy- Zeigarnik effect.
By definition, the Zeigarnik effect is the tendency to remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than the ones that have been completed. It was named after the soviet psychologist, Bluma Zeigarnik. She first studied the phenomenon after her professor and Gestalt psychologist Kurt Lewin noticed that a waiter had better recollections of still unpaid orders. However, after the completion of the task — after everyone had paid — he was unable to remember any more details of the orders. Zeigarnik then designed a series of experiments to uncover the processes underlying this phenomenon. Her research report was published in 1927, in the journal Psychologische Forschung.
The advantage of remembrance can be explained by looking at Lewin’s field theory: a task that has already been started establishes a task-specific tension, which improves the cognitive accessibility of the relevant contents. The tension is relieved upon completion of the task but persists if it is interrupted. Through continuous tension, the content is made more easily accessible and can be easily remembered. This cognitive phenomenon is also observed in the case of the doorway effect, which I have written in another article.
There are many practical applications to Zeigarnik effect. It is especially used in the media industry in the form of ambiguous titles and cliff-hangers. Remember the last time you were frustrated with a show ending the season with a cliffhanger or tempted to click an ad, just so that you can see what the complete title is. It can also be used to improve our academic excellence as well.
The Zeigarnik effect suggests that students who suspend their study to perform unrelated activities (such as studying a different subject or playing a game), will remember material better than students who complete study sessions without a break (McKinney 1935; Zeigarnik 1927). So, now we have a reason to go play outside in the middle of a study session.
So, what it actually means is that it never….
(I know it’s frustrating. But let me leave with that sentence uncompleted… )
