Incomplete tasks weigh on our minds until done
Whether it’s a waiter recalling a long order or a birthday card yet to be sent, tasks left incomplete create a tension, craving for closure and, ultimately, certainty.
Zeigarnik, B. (1938). On finished and unfinished tasks. A source book of Gestalt psychology, 1, 300-314.
The study
47 subjects were given around 20 small, manual tasks to complete, one at a time. Experimenters randomly interrupted completion of half of these tasks. After, subjects were asked to recall as many tasks as possible.
There was a 90% higher recall of incomplete and interrupted tasks than those completed.
Zeigarnik, B. (1938). On finished and unfinished tasks. A source book of Gestalt psychology, 1, 300-314.
Key Takeaways
Make important task completion frictionless. If customers leave your site without finishing their order, make it effortlessly easy to get that completion feeling, such as allowing for completion with a single click, tap or swipe.
Focus on completion’s emotional release. Providing reward incentives for task completion actually demotivates consumers. Instead, remind them not just of the product they’ve not yet bought, but of the feelings that this ‘purchase task’ will unlock.
Make known campaigns incomplete and interactive. Greater familiarity with an advert increases consumer ability to complete an interrupted ad message. Active participation also boosts ad memory (Heller, 1956). So if your popular campaign’s reaching its end, consider a special second follow-up version that allows for active participation in completing the ad message.
In further detail
Incomplete tasks weigh on our minds until done
Whether it’s a waiter recalling a long order or a birthday card yet to be sent, tasks left incomplete create a tension, craving for closure and, ultimately, certainty.
Zeigarnik, B. (1938). On finished and unfinished tasks. A source book of Gestalt psychology, 1, 300-314.
The study
47 subjects were given around 20 small, manual tasks to complete, one at a time. Experimenters randomly interrupted completion of half of these tasks. After, subjects were asked to recall as many tasks as possible.
There was a 90% higher recall of incomplete and interrupted tasks than those completed.
Zeigarnik, B. (1938). On finished and unfinished tasks. A source book of Gestalt psychology, 1, 300-314.
Key Takeaways
Make important task completion frictionless. If customers leave your site without finishing their order, make it effortlessly easy to get that completion feeling, such as allowing for completion with a single click, tap or swipe.
Focus on completion’s emotional release. Providing reward incentives for task completion actually demotivates consumers. Instead, remind them not just of the product they’ve not yet bought, but of the feelings that this ‘purchase task’ will unlock.
Make known campaigns incomplete and interactive. Greater familiarity with an advert increases consumer ability to complete an interrupted ad message. Active participation also boosts ad memory (Heller, 1956). So if your popular campaign’s reaching its end, consider a special second follow-up version that allows for active participation in completing the ad message.
In further detail
Incomplete tasks weigh on our minds until done
The study
47 subjects were given around 20 small, manual tasks to complete, one at a time. Experimenters randomly interrupted completion of half of these tasks. After, subjects were asked to recall as many tasks as possible.
There was a 90% higher recall of incomplete and interrupted tasks than those completed.
In detail
How bed company Button & Sprung use socks (!) to create a strong, playful form of post-sales reciprocity
Read moreScarcity
We value things more when they’re in limited supply
Social Proof
We copy the behaviors of others, especially in unfamiliar situations
Prospect Theory
A loss hurts more than an equal gain feels good
Reciprocity
We’re hardwired to return kindness received
Framing
We make very different decisions based on how a fact is presented
Loss Aversion
We feel more negative when losing something than positive when we gain it
Default Effect
We tend to accept the option pre-chosen for us
Anchoring
What we see first affects our judgement of everything thereafter
Fast & Slow Thinking
We make knee-jerk spontaneous decisions that can cause regretful damage
Dynamic Norms
We’re more likely to change if we can see a new behavior developing
Salience
Our choices are determined by the information we're shown