The Reason You Can’t Forget Your Past Relationships: The Zeigarnik Effect

Everyone has their “if only”. We all miss some of the things we lost in the past, the opportunities we missed, and the unfinished experiences.

so what is this commitment to unfinished things?

There is a concept in psychology known as the “Zeigarnik effect”.

Discovered in the 1920s by Bluma Zeigarnik, a Soviet psychiatrist, after a restaurant meal, and as a result of research in the years that followed. this clearly proven effect; He states that unfinished works continue to occupy the mind, and completed works are put aside in the brain.

According to this effect; The reason why we can’t forget the things left unfinished, the fact that we could not reach comfort and satisfaction as a result of that work. Since the brain thinks that the effort and time it has given at the end of that process cannot be repaid, we try to focus our minds on those subjects with the effect of not being rewarded. keeps trying to get results.

So how was the effect revealed?

In this respect many experiments We said it was done. In one of these experiments, different beads are given to the participants and each time they are asked to string these beads in a certain color order.

During the experiment, one of the bead strings is split by the researchers. When the experiment is completed, the participants are asked which bead sequences they remember and the overwhelming majority of participants say they remember better the order of the bead string that was left unfinished.

In another experiment, a group of unfinished participants is asked to start a book and then asked for details about the book.

Participants were unable to fully focus on the book and they don’t pay much attention to details is revealed. Another group is given time to plan their unfinished business and the book is read after this process, it is seen that this group remembers the details more.

To interpret these results; Our brain cannot focus on new tasks or experiences until we get the unfinished business and mental satisfaction.

This situation in our daily life It has many reflections. One of the best examples is that we can’t get our unfinished love out of our minds. In the same way, this effect explains why that song, which you can’t remember what it is, stays in your mind throughout the day, but does not come to your mind for weeks after listening to it once.

Apart from these, the episode endings with the theme of “to be continued…”, which are constantly used in the series industry, also use this psychological concept. a hangover effect in your mind by creating a series that keeps the series in your mind until a week or a season later.