by Princess Anne N. Navarro, Jessica Bunan and Cristine Joy Calles
Have you ever experienced being so bothered because of an unfinished task? Like leaving what you are reading such as a thrilling novel right before the great mystery was about to be unfolded, or starting a game and leaving it half-way without reaching the goal? Also, have you ever realized that we mostly remember tasks that we haven’t finished, and tend to forget them when they’re already done? Well, that is not just a critical question and a guessing answer because it is a psychological phenomenon.
The tendency to experience intrusive thoughts about an objective that once pursued and left incomplete is called the Zeigarnik Effect. It is a psychological phenomenon describing an aptness to remember interrupted or incomplete tasks or events more easily than tasks that have been completed.
The Zeigarnik Effect is based on the idea that it is human nature to finish what we started. And if we don’t finish something, we experience dissonance, resulting in an uncomfortable feeling. Not finishing something puts us in a state of tension that makes us pay more attention to the thing we want to finish. The consequence is that we remember uncompleted tasks more than the tasks already completed and are often driven by this effect to complete something. In other words, we have little motivation to recall things we’ve finished whereas we have a strong investment of interest in unfinished things and this keeps them in the forefront of our minds.
HISTORY OF ZEIGARNIK EFFECT
Zeigarnik effect was named after its founder, a Russian psychiatrist and psychologist Bluma Wulfovna Zeigarnik. While dining at a restaurant in the 1920s, Zeigarnik noticed waiters were able to keep track of complex orders and unpaid meals, but once the orders were filled and paid for, the waiters were unable to recall detailed information about the orders. Intrigued, she decided to study the phenomenon via a series of experiments in her lab.
In one of her experiments, Zeigarnik asked a group of 138 children to complete a series of simple tasks, puzzles, and arithmetic problems. She allowed the children to complete half of the tasks and interrupted them during the remaining tasks. Zeigarnik investigated their recall after an hour’s delay and discovered 110 of the 138 children had better recall for the interrupted tasks than the completed tasks. In a related experiment involving adults, the participants were able to recall unfinished tasks 90% better than completed tasks.
The Zeigarnik effect has since been studied by many other researchers, with some able to replicate Zeigarnik’s findings and others unable to do so. Several models have been proposed to explain the effect. Some theories mention the tension that arises from having an unfinished task and the need to keep the task in mind in order to eventually complete it and release this internal tension.
Studies indicate other factors such as motivation, reward expectancy, time of interruption, and the achievability of the required task may have a significant impact on the strength of the Zeigarnik effect.
HOW ZEIGARNIK EFFECT WORKS
Zeigarnik theorized that incomplete tasks incite “psychic tension” which can be a driving force to complete the tasks. Automatic system signals the conscious mind, which may be focused on new goals, that a previous activity was left incomplete. If you start working toward a goal and fail to get there, thoughts about the goal will keep popping into your mind while you are doing other things, as if to remind you to get back on track to finish reaching that goal.
As long as you leave tasks unfinished, your brain is in an uncomfortable position. Thoughts of the task serve to remind your brain of what it needs to do to get “comfortable” once again. As soon as you complete the task, this tension is alleviated, and in so doing, your brain lets the mind to release thoughts of the task from consciousness.
The effect can be explained by looking at Lewin’s field theory: a task that has already been started establishes a task-specific tension, which improves cognitive access to any relevant information. This tension that has been established is relieved upon successful completion of the task. If the task is interrupted, any reduction of tension is impeded. With continuous tension, the relevant information becomes more accessible and more easily remembered.
Based on the findings of Bluma Zeigarnik’s experiments, participants were able to recall details of interrupted tasks better than those that they had been able to complete undisturbed. These results suggest that a desire to complete a task can cause it to be retained in a person’s memory until it has been completed, and that the finality of its completion enables the process of forgetting it to take place.
In another study, U.S. psychologist John Atkinson focussed on motivational aspects of task completion. He too observed the Zeigarnik effect in memory recall, but noted that remembering of unfinished tasks was also influenced by individual differences among participants. Atkinson noted that those subjects who approached tasks with a higher motivation to accomplish them would be more affected by those that they had been unable to complete and would be more likely to remember them. By contrast, if a participant was less motivated, the incomplete status of a task be of less concern and so less memorable to them.
APPLICATION
The Zeigarnik effect impacts your life and can be observed every day. The stress of daily hassles and frustrations often stem from incomplete tasks. Ambivalence and procrastination can often be traced to the same source: the lawns bugging you to get mowed; the dishes screaming to be washed; the bills pushing you to get paid.
People who are prone to procrastination may learn the importance of starting tasks early or of simply starting anywhere they can. The cognitive tension associated with the Zeigarnik effect will help to pull these individuals back to work until the job is completed on time.
Soap operas and serialized dramas also take advantage of this effect. The episode may end, but the story is unfinished. Cliffhangers leave viewers eager to learn more, and thanks to the Zeigarnik effect, they will remember to tune in next time to find out what happens.
Productivity may also be increased for individuals who work promptly but have issues with multitasking. A thorough understanding of the cognitive intrusions accompanying uncompleted tasks will help workers appreciate that each new task is essentially an interruption of what was previously being done. Workers may be therefore motivated to set reasonable limits on the amount of multitasking they do, thereby increasing work performance while reducing cognitive overload and frustration.
Students may also take advantage of the Zeigarnik in their studies. By designing study sessions with appropriate breaks involving unrelated activities (such as studying unrelated subjects or playing games), students are likely to experience more intrusive thoughts about the topics they cover and may be better able to reflect on and consolidate these thoughts. A prolonged study period without breaks is typically less effective for information recall.
ZEIGARNIK EFFECT AND MENTAL HEALTH
The Zeigarnik effect can play an essential job in a man’s psychological well-being. Incomplete tasks, particularly those with negative consequences, often lead to frequent and stressful intrusive thoughts. These thoughts can reduce sleep, promote anxiety, and further consume a person’s mental and emotional resources.
Alternately, the Zeigarnik effect can promote mental well-being by motivating an individual to complete tasks, develop better habits, and resolve lingering issues. The fruitful finish of allocated assignments can provide a feeling of achievement while boosting self-assurance and confidence. The development of productive work and study habits can also contribute to a personal sense of maturity and self-growth. Additionally, a person who can find closure for stress-inducing events will likely experience a long-term positive impact on psychological well-being.
.
REFERENCES
Belludi, N. (2017) Zeigarnik Effect: How Incomplete Tasks Trigger Stress [Mental Models] http://www.rightattituds.com/2017/03/14/zeigarnik-effect/
http://coglode.com/gem/zeigarnik-effect
https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/zeigarnik-effect
https://www.psychologistworld.com/memory/zeigarnik-effect-interruptions-memory
https://www.verywellmind.com/zeigarnik-effect-memory-overview-4175150
Zeigarnik, B. (1927). Uber das behalten yon erledigten und underledigten handlungen. Psychologische Forschung, 9, 1-85. Retrieved from http://codeblab.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/On-Finished-and-Unfinished-Tasks.pdf
ABM BUS4 