What it is
Unfinished tasks stay in mind more than finished ones, which can nag us or be exploited by cliffhangers.
Example A half-read series keeps pulling you back.
Related
Appears in
References
- Wikipedia: Zeigarnik effect en.wikipedia.org
- The 99 thinking errors in Rolf Dobelli's The Art of Thinking Clearly en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia: List of cognitive biases en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia: Cognitive bias codex en.wikipedia.org
More in “Deciding and acting: incentives, loss and commitment”
Overconfidence effectLoss aversionSunk-cost fallacyCognitive dissonanceMotivated reasoningIncentive super-response tendencyStatus quo biasEndowment effectOptimism biasPlanning fallacyOutcome biasHyperbolic discountingScarcity errorAffect heuristicAction biasOmission biasDefault effectFear of regretAmbiguity aversionParadox of choiceDecision fatigueProcrastinationHedonic treadmillMental accountingEffort justificationIllusion of controlHouse-money effectWinner's curseMotivation crowdingNeomaniaNot-invented-here syndromeInability to close doorsOverthinkingStrategic misrepresentationDéformation professionnelleIllusion of skillDomain dependenceBeginner's luckSleeper effect"Get worse before it gets better" fallacyVolunteer's folly