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Bluma Zeigarnik: 2 ideas worth knowing

2 ideas from Bluma Zeigarnik, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

• Why an unpaid restaurant bill sticks in your head

  Psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik noticed a waiter could recall every detail of unpaid orders but drew a blank once the bill was settled. Her 1927 experiments confirmed it: people remem…

  — Bluma Zeigarnik, On Finished and Unfinished Tasks (Über das Behalten von erledigten und unerledigten Handlungen)

• An unfinished task nags at you far more than a finished one

  In the 1920s Bluma Zeigarnik noticed Berlin waiters could recall unpaid orders in vivid detail but forgot them the instant the bill was settled. Follow-up experiments found people …

  — Bluma Zeigarnik, Zeigarnik effect

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