No More Boring Learning by Brain Bakery 21. The Zeigarnik Effect: Transforming Learning with the Power of Unfinished Tasks
Does this sound familiar?
When you start working on a task but do not complete it, you keep thinking about the unfinished work and have the urge to go back even if you are doing something else? You are reading a book...and you can't out it down until you get to the end of the chapter? Finishing that level on your favourite video game, before switching off?
What is that? It's a psychological phenomenon named after Bluma Zeigarnik, a Lithuanian psychologist who first studied it in the 1920s. The Zeigarnik Effect!
By understanding how our brains respond to incomplete tasks, we unlock powerful strategies to motivate learners to reach the finish line. Soap operas and serialised dramas already use the Zeigarnik effect. For example, an episode may end, but the story is clearly not over. These “cliffhangers” leave viewers eager to see what happens next, and thanks to the Zeigarnik effect, they will be motivated to come back and watch the next episode to find out.
How you can apply this? Well Jeanne shares in the episode how to beat this and how to use it in for learning and development (L&D), keeping the NMBL journey alive!
Check the blog about this podcast:
https://www.brainbakery.com/brainsnacks-en/the-zeigarnik-effect-transforming-learning-with-the-power-of-unfinished-tasks
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