Zeigarnik Effect
The ability of incomplete tasks to dominate attention, even after one has committed leave them unresolved for the time being.
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Origin
Named for Bluma Zeigarnik, a Lithuanian-Soviet psychologist who studied under Kurt Lewin at the University of Berlin. The story goes that Lewin noticed a café waiter could recall complex unpaid orders but forgot them the moment the bill was settled. Zeigarnik formalized this observation in her 1927 thesis, establishing it as a foundational finding in the psychology of motivation.
Updated February 22, 2026