Universal Principles of Design, Updated and Expanded Third Edition

200 Zeigarnik Effect

Incomplete or interrupted tasks are more likely to hold attention and be remembered.

The Zeigarnik Effect, proposed by the psychiatrist and psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik, states that interrupted or incomplete tasks are better remembered than completed tasks. This occurs because the unconscious mind seeks closure and completion. In order to get what it wants, the unconscious mind drives the conscious mind to focus and complete the task at hand. When tasks are incomplete or get interrupted, the unconscious mind keeps working the problem; and this helps keep activity-related information in memory.¹

Zeigarnik proposed the effect after researching a phenomenon first observed by her professor. He noticed that waiters could remember ...