The Zeigarnik effect on Short time memory (STM)
You pull out the key to open your house. You unlock the door and get inside. Then several hours later you’re looking for the key and wondering where it is. And you discover that you have left it behind on the door. Has this happened to you?
To understand why it happens, let’s flashback to Bluma Zeigarnik, a Russian psychologist. One evening, Zeigarnik and her friends went out for dinner to a restaurant. They had a lovely meal. Guess what the highlight was? It was the service. More specifically, their waiter. He had an amazing memory. So as everybody placed their orders, he remembered every little detail, without writing anything down. He remembered who ordered what. And how they wanted it. Zeigarnik and her friends were all amazed by the waiter’s memory.
After the meal, they were driving back when Zeigarnik discovered that she had left her jacket behind in the restaurant. So she turned around, drove back to the restaurant and sought out that friendly waiter who she knew would be happy to help her locate her jacket. Imagine her horror though when she found the waiter, but the waiter didn’t even recognize her. What happened?
It got Zeigarnik thinking. And her research then showed how our brain tends to work. When a task is completed, our brain hits the delete button. And our memory gets wiped clean. Our short term memory struggles with space to retain information. So it keeps only the unfinished tasks alive. And the minute a task is completed it hits the delete button. And that’s why waiters at restaurants will remember every little detail of your order. But only until the bill is made. That’s why when we photocopy a document, we pick up the copy and walk away, leaving the original behind. This has come to be known as the Zeigarnik effect. A term that describes how our short-term memory deletes completed tasks. Fascinating, isn’t it?
The Zeigarnik effect might explain why at a bank’s ATM, you are now required to pull your card out before collecting the cash. They know Zeigarnik will be at play and once you collect the cash, the task is finished and good chance you will forget to take your card back.
It’s something we can all put to good use. Look at what Netflix does. You will find through all their serials, every episode ends tantalisingly. That 30-minute episode ends at a point where you will say ‘wow, what happens next’? You want to know, you want to come back. There is no closure at the end of that episode and that’s what brings us back all the time. Had there been closure, chances are we’d quickly forget about it. Maybe a powerful idea for all of us. If there is something you want to make sure remains alive, keep it just a bit unfinished. Writing a book? Make sure you end every writing session at a point of suspense or tension. Don’t resolve it. Don’t finish it. That will bring you back next day to writing again.
The Zeigarnik effect might also explain my favourite piece of communication advice. It’s this. Someone said that there are really two golden rules of communication: 1. Never tell everything at once.
That’s it. Ah, the Zeigarnik effect!
The writer is an author, speaker and leadership coach and former MD of Kimberly Clark Lever
BEST BRAINS
The director of the George Washington University School of Medicine argues that the brain of an older person is much more practical than is commonly believed. At this age, the interaction of the right and left hemispheres of the brain becomes harmonious, which expands our creative possibilities. That is why among people over 60 years of age you can find many personalities who have just started their creative activities.
Of course, the brain is no longer as fast as it was in youth. However, it gains in flexibility. Therefore, with age, we are more likely to make the right decisions and are less exposed to negative emotions. The peak of human intellectual activity occurs around the age of 70, when the brain begins to function at full strength.
Over time, the amount of myelin in the brain increases, a substance that facilitates the rapid passage of signals between neurons. Due to this, intellectual abilities increase by 300% compared to the average.
Also interesting is the fact that after 60 years, a person can use 2 hemispheres at the same time. This allows you to solve much more complex problems.
Professor Monchi Uri, from the University of Montreal, believes that the old man’s brain chooses the path that consumes less energy, eliminates the unnecessary and leaves only the right options to solve the problem. A study was conducted involving different age groups. Young people were very confused when passing the tests, while those over 60 years of age made the right decisions.
Now, let’s look at the characteristics of the brain between the ages of 60 and 80. They are really pink.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BRAIN OF AN ELDERLY PERSON.
1. Neurons in the brain do not die, as everyone around you says. The connections between them simply disappear if one does not engage in mental work.
2. Distraction and forgetfulness arise due to an overabundance of information. Therefore, it is not necessary for you to concentrate your whole life on unnecessary trifles.
3. From the age of 60, a person, when making decisions, does not use one hemisphere at the same time, like young people, but both.
4. Conclusion: if a person leads a healthy lifestyle, moves, has viable physical activity and is fully mentally active, intellectual abilities do NOT decrease with age, they simply GROW, reaching a peak at the age of 80-90 years.
So do not be afraid of old age. Strive to develop intellectually. Learn new crafts, make music, learn to play musical instruments, paint pictures! Dance! Take an interest in life, meet and communicate with friends, plan for the future, travel as best you can. Do not forget to go to shops, cafes, shows. Don’t shut up alone, it’s destructive to anyone. Live with the thought: all good things are still ahead of me!
SOURCE: New England Journal of Medicine.
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