Common Applications Of The Zeigarnik Effect

After learning about the basics of what the Zeigarnik Effect is and how it works, now's the time to delve deeper into it.

As is mentioned in my last wryt-up, the Zeigarnik Effect feeds on the uneasiness built in our minds on account of something unfinished, because of which, it keeps popping up in our thoughts. There are many reactions developed by the human mind, as a response to this need to attain fulfilment; like - curiosity to know what happens next, discomfort due to unattainment, uncertainty and confusion. Since long, whether conciously or subconsciously, this phenomenon is being put to use in our day to day lives.

Following are some widespread applications of the little talked about Zeigarnik Effect:-

1. Examples in books, tv, movies :

If you've read any serialised book, like the Harry Potter Series, or even one part book like The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, you've experienced the cliffhangers at the end of the chapters, which are essentially the Zeigarnik Hooks, the main ingredient for piquing the curiosity of readers, making them achieve astounding success. All these books contain a central element of mystery; many threads left unfinished, which are interwoven at the climax to produce an unexpected outcome, tending to the speculations of readers and finally satisfying them intellectually.

Serialised TV shows too work upon similar lines, by using cliff-hangers when a program cuts to an advertisement break. The viewer is compelled to suffer the advertisements in order to continue watching. Such techniques are also used to entice viewers back each week. The concept of using "incomplete stories" with one story's resolution being wrapped up by the incompleteness of the other produces an effect so powerful that viewers watch the same soap opera for years. That's the secret behind high- ratings of shows being running for years. The technique, while effective, can backfire if it is overused and/or there is failure to live up to the expectations left by the Zeigarnik Hook. (Otherwise known as a “let down”.)

Movies are revealed firstly via teasers and trailers, providing a glimpse of the storyline and building up the excitement of finding what actually is there.

2. Examples in marketing :

When advertising, a marketer will adopt a way by telling a story that attracts a potential customer’s attention, and then keep him following in search of a satisfying conclusion. By peppering more hooks throughout the sales copy or by revealing small bits of the puzzle at a time, the marketer is able engage the viewer deeper and deeper into the sales process.

Other common techniques include - click-bait ads, which reveal exciting offers on any product, without showing it fully. These ads are designed to promote online sales by luring a potential customer to the product, in anticipation of how the product actually is.

3. Gaming industry and online tutorials:

These employ methods like rewards on completion of quests and locks on higher levels until the lower ones are completed. Designing multiple interrelated quests is also a way to apply Zeigarnik Effect to the minds of players, just like what's done in serialised books and shows.

4. News channels and newspapers use eye-catching headlines to grab attention to the actual news.

5. Study techniques like Pomodoro Technique; apps working on lines of no-phone-no-distraction where while studying, students don't have to be lured by their smartphones, and if they do so, some rewards await them.