#1 The Zeigarnik Effect

The Zeigarnik effect refers to the psychological phenomenon where people remember unfinished tasks more easily than completed tasks.

 

Today we explore how we can use this effect to motivate users to complete tasks, increase user engagement, and make products more sticky.

 

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References

 

1. Zeigarnik, B. (1938). Über das Behalten von erledigten und unerledigten Handlungen. Psychologische Forschung, 18(1), 1-85.

 

2. Pohl, R. F. (2004). The Zeigarnik effect: A review of the literature and some new empirical studies. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 18(5), 637-656.

 

3. Zangeneh, H., Fathi, A., & Montgomery, B. (2011). Is the Zeigarnik effect generalisable over time? An empirical study. International Journal of Psychology, 46(1), 8-17.

 

4. Dijksterhuis, A., & Meurs, T. (2006). Where creativity resides: The generative power of unconscious processes. Consciousness and cognition, 15(1), 135-146.

 

5. Süssenbach, P., & Kühnen, U. (2003). The Zeigarnik effect in achievement contexts: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(4), 816-824.