The Psychology of Closure

What’s the best way to carry out random acts of kindness? What’s wrong with making an “Irish exit”? And why is Mike secretly buying lottery tickets?

• SOURCES:
  • Roy Baumeister, social psychologist and visiting scholar at Harvard University.
  • Daniel Gilbert, professor of psychology at Harvard University.
  • John Gottman, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Washington.
  • Kurt Lewin, 20th-century German-American psychologist.
  • E. J. Masicampo, professor of psychology at Wake Forest University.
  • Timothy Wilson, professor of psychology at the University of Virginia.
  • Bluma Zeigarnik, 20th-century Soviet psychologist.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Life and Work of the Psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik," by M. Marco (Neurosciences and History, 2018).
  • "Why We Need Answers," by Maria Konnikova (The New Yorker, 2013).
  • "Consider It Done! Plan Making Can Eliminate the Cognitive Effects of Unfulfilled Goals," by E. J. Masicampo and Roy Baumeister (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2011).
  • The Science of Trust: Emotional Attunement for Couples, by John Gottman (2011).
  • "'Let Me Dream On!' Anticipatory Emotions and Preference for Timing in Lotteries," by Martin Kocher, Michal Krawczyk, and Frans van Winden (Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper, 2009).
  • "Explaining Away: A Model of Affective Adaptation," by Timothy Wilson and Daniel Gilbert (Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2008).
  • "On Finished and Unfinished Tasks," by Bluma Zeigarnik (A Source Book of Gestalt Psychology, 1938).

• EXTRAS:
  • Big Five Personality Inventory, by No Stupid Questions (2024).
  • "Can We Disagree Better?" by No Stupid Questions (2023).
  • "Would You Be Happier if You Were More Creative?" by No Stupid Questions (2023).
  • "How Can You Be Kinder to Yourself?" by No Stupid Questions (2023).
  • "What’s Wrong With Holding a Grudge?" by No Stupid Questions (2022).
  • Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch, by Eileen Spinelli (1991).