Bluma Zeigarnik

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Life and career[edit]


The Zeigarnik effect[edit]

In psychology, the Zeigarnik effect (less common: Ovsiankina effect) states that people remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed tasks. In Gestalt psychology, the Zeigarnik effect has been used to demonstrate the general presence of Gestalt phenomena: not just appearing as perceptual effects, but also present in cognition.[citation needed]




John Gottman's What Makes Love Last? applied the Zeigarnik effect to relationships, noting that "Between lovers, arguments that end with confessions, amends, and deeper understanding of one another tend to be soon forgotten, although their legacy is a stronger, more enduring relationship"; but when a rejected bid for support and understanding leads to "a regrettable incident that goes unaddressed, thanks to the Zeigarnik effect, the hurt remains accessible in our active memory, available to be rehashed again and again. Like a stone in one's shoe, the recollection becomes a constant irritant that leads to an increase in negative attitudes about the partner."[2]


  2. ^ Gottman, John (2012). "The Three Boxes". What Makes Love Last?. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-4516-0848-9. 

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