Why Do We Remember Unfinished Events More? Zeigarnik Effect

The Unable to Forget the Unfinished Effect: Zeigarnik

Zeigarnik; It is a psychological phenomenon concept that expresses incomplete, divided or unfinished tasks or experiences easier to remember than completed ones. Born in 1901, Russian psychologist and psychiatrist Bluma Wulfovna Zeigarnik had the chance to observe this term through waiters. Emergence of the Term In the early 1920s, Bluma Zeigarnik went to a restaurant at the University of Berlin with a group of psychologists, including Professor Kurt Kewin, Bluma Zaigarnik’s doctoral thesis advisor and the founder of positive psychology. The waiter who took care of them in the restaurant did not write down the orders, but kept them in mind. Noticing this situation, Zeigarnik was curious and asked the waiter how he had managed to remember. The waiter said that after he wrote the orders in his mind and gave the food to the people, he erased these mental notes from his mind. Intrigued by this skill, Bluma Zeigarnik and his mentor Kurt Kevin decided to conduct several experiments on this phenomenon (“What is the Zeigarnik Effect?”, 2016).

See also:The Effect Of Theseus’ Ship Paradox

1. Experiment

A group of subjects were instructed to string the beads of different colors and stop when 15 beads were strung together. As a result of the experiment, when the subjects were asked which color bead they remembered first, it was concluded that the color of the unfinished bead was remembered.

2. Experiment

Participants were divided into 2 groups and they were asked to read. The participants in the 1st group did not notice the details in the text because they could not concentrate on this action when they were not busy with any work. When the participants in the 2nd group were made to read while they had other things to do, it was seen that the participants successfully completed the task with high concentration. Since the brain is thinking about other things to do in the background, it has tried to do what it is doing with maximum focus.

3. Experiment

Years after the 2 experiments, a group was told to make a jigsaw puzzle for money, and when half of the puzzle was finished, it was added that the experiment was over, and the participants were paid. Despite this, it was observed that the subjects continued the puzzle after the experts left the field. It has been understood that the brain instills in people a sense of responsibility and persistence.

Current Usage

We often encounter the zeigarnik effect on many digital platforms that we use today, consciously or unconsciously. For example, the writing of “To be continued” in one corner of the television screen while the TV series are in the commercial break helps to keep the brain on that screen. The most exciting part of blogs, articles and news are cut into three points together, the famous writer Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist’s novel, which is cut and serialized in the exciting parts, are among the examples of this effect. Conclusion “The thinking brain tries to fulfill the order it receives from the responsibility center, to complete the incomplete cycle.” (The urge to get things done: The Zeigarnik Effect – Earthlings, n.d.). Thanks to this instinctive act, they remember our responsibilities better; Let’s not forget the missing parts. Since the brain wants to complete the relationship in unfinished bilateral relations, it becomes more difficult for us to forget. After all, the problems we always remember, even in primary school, are not the ones we can solve, but the ones we can’t.

Author: Yade Mulla

Translator: Arda Sahın

Source

Binici, Y. (2019, 16 November). Zeigarnik Effect. Access address: yucel binici: Retrieved from https://yucelbinici.com/zeigarnik-etkisi/ Keskin, K. (2018, 22 November).

Zeigarnik Effect and Tanpınar’s Stories. MagazinePark. Access address: Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/588988 Koçak, A. E. (2021, January 31).

The Zeigarnik Effect: Why Do You Remember Uncompleted Jobs and Unfinished Tasks More Often? Evolution Tree. Access address: https://evrimagaci.org/zeigarnik-etkisi-tamamlamadiginiz-isleri-ve-bitmediginiz-gorevleri-neden-daha-sik-hatirlresim-9439