Incomplete tasks and the Zeigarnik Effect
Submitted by Merlin on September 5, 2005 - 7:12am.
Zeigarnik effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikipedia says:
The Zeigarnik effect states that people remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed ones.
Russian psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik first studied the phenomenon after noticing that waiters seemed to remember orders only so long as the order was in the process of being served.
Further elucidated by errtravel:
While sitting in a restaurant in Vienna—every good story about a psychologist takes place in Vienna—Bluma Zeigarnik noticed that a waiter could remember a seemingly endless number of items that had been ordered by his customers. However, once he had delivered the orders to the waiting diners, he no longer remembered what he had just served….
Though Zeigarnik didn’t get her coffee cup refilled following her meal, she did get into the annals of psychology. Zeigarnik theorized that an incomplete task or unfinished business creates “psychic tension” within us. This tension acts as a motivator to drive us toward completing the task or finishing the business. In Gestalt terms, we are motivated to seek “closure…”
Apparently you can game the Zeigarnik Effect for more effective studying, employ it to goose your direct marketing plan, or just consider it as one excellent explanation for the allure of multi-tasking.
In any case, it’s a fascinating idea and sure would account for why it feels so worthwhile to “close the loop” whenever you can.
[ via Company23 ]
- Merlin's blog
- 17860 reads
hmmm... I was a waitress...
hmmm… I was a waitress for 10 years. I kind of agree with this, I recognized it as a skill many years ago. Ha..! Waiting table is ALL about “closing the loop”, one after another, for hours, until the last customer.
You take the order, run around and do your thing, until the order comes up. Yes, there is a sort of tension… Table #8 is hanging around in your mind, until you get them served.
However, while alot of tension is relieved upon serving the food, the tension doesn’t completely disappear until the check is paid and the customer leaves.
Depends on how define the completedness of a given task…
Also, I could remember specific orders for days aftewards, but only if reminded or questioned about an order.