UX Laws & Psychological Principles - The Zeigarnik Effect

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The Zeigarnik Effect 
Bluma Ziegarnik discovered the Zeigarnik Effect in 1927, which shows that people tend to recall incomplete tasks rather than finished ones. This psychological concept has significant implications for UX design, as involving users frequently means creating a feeling of progress and resolution. Theory Background Zeigarnik’s research stemmed from observing waiters who better recalled unpaid orders than paid ones. She concluded that incompletion creates cognitive tension, motivating individuals to resolve the task. In UX design, this translates to leveraging users psychology to encourage interaction and engagement by highlighting unfinished tasks.
Example in Practice 
The Zeigarnik Effect is commonly employed in digital interfaces for instance, Linkden's profile completion feature uses a progress bar and prompts like "You're 80% complete - add your skills to finish your profile". Users are motivated to act by this visual representation of incompleteness, which increases engagement. Similar to this, Duolingo uses milestones and streaks to remind users of their ongoing progress and encourage them to return. By appealing to the user's psychological desire for closure, these designs keep them engaged.
Relevance to UX 
UX designers can create more user-friendly and captivating experiences by incorporating the Ziegarnik Effect. Emphasising incompletion encourages routine usage and increases interaction rates by appealing to users' own motivation. This theory demonstrates how psychology and user experience may work together to produce designs that closely connect with user behaviour, enhancing engagement and retention.  

References
Ziegarnik, B. (1927). "On Finished and Unfinished Tasks." Psychologische Forschung. Available at https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-10344-025 (Accessed: 28 December 2024). 
Amazon. (n.d.). Shopping Cart Feature. Available at: https://www.amazon.com (Accessed: 28 December 2024). 
LinkedIn. (n.d.). Profile Completion Features. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com (Accessed: 28 December 2024). 
Duolingo. (n.d.). Streak and Gamification Systems. Available at: https://www.duolingo.com (Accessed: 28 December 2024).

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