The Zeigarnik Effect: The need for closure.

First identified by gestalt psychologist Kevin Lewin, the zeigarnik effect is where we tend to remember incomplete tasks more often than tasks that are completed. This effect was first discovered in 1927 when Kevin Lewin sitting in a restaurant in Vienna noticed that waiters only remembered orders while they were in the process of being served thus incomplete, and when they were completed they later had little recollection of the orders they previously carried out if any recollection at all. This resulted in Kevins Lewin's student Bluma Zeigarnik theorizing that unfinished business or an incomplete task created ''psychic tension'' within us, and this tension can drive us to seek closure in regards to either unfinished business or an incomplete task.

The need for closure
The human mind is motivated to seek closure, where something is perceived to be unfinished the memory seems to hold onto it until it is resolved. A classic example would come from television soaps where an episode of your favourite television show would build up to its eventual climax after a long running storyline and you would literally be hanging at the edge of your seat, then the words TO BE CONTINUED would appear on your television screen right when you were really getting hooked. This can be quite annoying, but funnily enough it is near guaranteed that you will be thinking about it throughout the week until the showing of the next episode, and as a result you will tune in to watch it to find out what happened thus seeking and gaining closure.

Breakups
Another example where most people can experience a lack of closure is at the ending of a relationship, this may be because of a lack of communication from one or both parties involved where you don't or cannot find a real reason as to why things didn't work out, this results in you asking yourself a lot of questions in regards to the relationship which can lead to obsessive overthinking making it hard to let go after the break up. But if the relationship ended amicably with both parties getting everything off of their chest and out in the open and reaching an understanding from both sides then usually this lessens the tension that normally creeps up during a break up because any lingering questions would have been answered giving you less to think about afterwards.

Procrastination
The Zeigarnik effect also suggests that our need for closure can also be an aid against procrastination. For instance by simply starting a project or a task preferably at an easier point you are more likely to finish the remainder of the task, this is because by not completing what you started your mind keeps drifting back and thinking about the incomplete task creating that psychic tension giving you a strong desire to finish it. And of course by starting at a smaller easier point of the task and laddering your way up to the harder parts it makes it seem that much more accessible rather than having to deal with a monumentally difficult task right off the bat.   


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Research
After her professor Kevin Lewin noticed the waiters increased recollection of incomplete or unpaid orders at the restaurant in Vennia as previously described, psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik decided to test out the theory regarding this incident. She asked roughly 20 or so participants to perform some simple tasks such as solving puzzles and stringing beads. Some of the participants were able to complete the tasks while some of the others were interrupted half way through completing their tasks. Afterwards Bluma asked the participants which of the tasks they remembered doing, according to her results people are twice as likely to remember a task that has been interrupted than a task which has been fully completed. Lastly, interestingly enough nearly 90% of the participants that were interrupted during their task carried on with their puzzle anyway without encouragement.

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Self completion theory

When a person attempts to define themselves whether it is a physician, footballer, mathematician, rock climber etc. they engage in behaviours which relate to the identity they are trying to cultivate and when any of these behaviours receive some sort of negative feedback they feel an incompleteness in regards to their identity  motivating them to redeem themselves by trying harder on any subsequent task related to the self identity which previously received negative feedback so they can feel that sense of completeness again.

This is because people have an innate drive to build and maintain their own self image, and when a significant part of their self image is threatened they have are driven to seek external validation or recognition of some kind to prove to themselves and to others that they are who they think they are or at least trying to portray so that significant part of their self image remains intact. For example, if a chef receives criticism for their food from a colleague they may engage in activities which compensate for their perceived failure and improve their self image such as buying more expensive cooking equipment or they may engage in behaviours which attempt to make them feel better about their recent failure such as cooking a dish they are known to be good at, even the use of verbal statements which reinforce their self image as a good chef such as ''I have made many successful dishes in the past'' helps to make them feel complete in regards to their bruised identity. What has just been described is self completion theory.


Examples of self completion theory

Performance
When someone is in a field, profession or social group that they regard as integral to their identity how they perform in regards to where they are in experience and how they perceive others to expect them to perform generally gives them a sense of duty to maintain that level of competence consistently, but negative feedback towards their work can cause them to work harder on any tasks after the negative feedback has been received so they can regain and maintain their sense of credibility.

Verbal statements
A person who's sense of identity is threatened may have the desire to verbalise their credibility to feel validated. For instance if someone questioned a mechanic's ability to fix a car properly that same mechanic may later feel the need to verbalise how much experience that he or she has with cars or they may even state who has praised them on their work in the past. Another example is if someone's ability to be helpful is threatened they may later become more verbalised on how much they are helpful in general and may also talk about who they have helped people previously.


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Materialism
Another way a person may find a way to validate themselves when their sense of identity is threatened or seemingly uncertain is through material positions. Similar to the last two points is when someone is questioned on an element of their identity such as how masculine they are, the person in question may acquire possessions which are typically associated with being masculine such as a watch, car, gym equipment etc. or they may be questioned on their career as musician where to compensate they may buy books, cd's, video's all which are related to music thus strengthening their sense of identity. 


Status symbols
Self completion theory suggests that when an individual feels insecure but well established regarding their status or profession they may make an effort to display symbols signalling their status. This may be because they do not feel that they are respected or at least recognized for who are so they feel the need to display these symbols to change other peoples perceptions and how they act towards them which will make them feel more respected as a result reinforcing the concept of their own status.


Research
Social psychologists Joachim C. Brunstein and Peter M. Golwilltzer conducted an experiment in 1996 regarding how perceived failures in committed identity related goals effected subsequent performance and behaviour where they had a group of students that were learning and committed to being physicians as their profession/identity which were involved in an experiment where they were split into two groups according to two conditions: the identity relevant condition and the non-relevant condition. The experiment had two phases. The first phase was a social competence task which the students were asked to complete a series of multiple choice questions. The students were each asked to read a brief outline of social problems followed by four suggested solutions where they had to choose one solution to move on to the next question. In the identity relevant condition the participants were asked a series of problems related to which physicians typically encounter in their line of work and in the non-relevant condition the participants were asked a series of problems which people come across from day to day. Feedback was manipulated in this task to either no feedback at all or a series of predominantly negative feedback so that the researchers can measure their performance in the second phase based on the feedback initially received.

The second phase was a mental concentration test where the participants in the non-relevant test condition were told upon completing the test that it was to measure and compare the concentration between various age groups while the participants in the profession relevant test condition were told that concentration on a given task was an important characteristic in becoming a qualified physician. 

The results were that the participants that were in the identity relevant condition that received negative feedback on the first phase performed better in the second phase than the participants who completed the same test in the non-relevant condition who also received negative feedback, the participants who received no feedback at all in the identity relevant test condition and the participants in the non-relevant condition who also received no feedback. The participants in the identity relevant condition which were exposed to failure reported higher levels of motivation and felt more involved than the other participants which suggests that they felt highly motivated to compensate for their failure in their identity related task making them work harder on the second phase of the experiment to prove that they are competent physicians.

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Scarcity: Having less making you want more.

We as people have the innate tendency to value things more that are seen as a limited resource whether it is something is that you cant have or something that you already own but its availability has begun to decrease. Robert Caldini best known for his ideas's of influence in his book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion states that the idea that something is less available can enhance its desirability through fear that you are losing out on a potential opportunity; and this can cause you to act hastily when you normally wouldn't. Scarcity is used in a variety of situations such as advertising, dating, economics, sales etc. There are some common principles in regards to the use of scarcity which are transferable and commonly used in different contexts on addition to the ones previously mentioned.


There are three ways as to how availability can be threatened...


A deadline.
An effective way to make an opportunity scarce is to give it a deadline, this is because like most people you do not act unless you have to; for example if someone says '' I have a car to give you to you for free, you can pick it up when ever you want'' then it is going to be indefinitely available and then there's no rush to get it immediately because it'll be there tomorrow... and the day after that, and the day after that, and so on. But give it a deadline such as ''I have a car to give to you for free but only until Wednesday when I'll then decide to sell it'' then you will be compelled to act fast in case of missing an opportunity and reaching the point of no return.


Banning and restriction.
The cliche phrase of ''you want what you can't have'' holds true because the rule of scarcity suggests we value things that are unavailable, if someone banned or restricted something from you it gives the object greater value in your eyes and makes you want to have it that little bit more. Books such as The Clockwork Orange, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Fallen Angels have all been banned at one time in or another in America which ironically resulted in the increase of sales, where as if there was no ban or restriction to these books then it would be highly unlikely that people would have taken as much  of an interest in them as they did anyway.


Limited quantity.
A limited quantity of an item can make people act with more urgency much like a deadline discussed earlier, think about what advertising always tells us ''Act now while supplies last!'', ''Limited supplies left!'', ''Only few are available!'', these phrases are designed to make people act quicker to catch the deal before it is gone forever. This principle can also make objects seemingly attractive, for instance diamonds; they are seen as a rare stone and because of this they are very expensive which makes them more scarce to most people as not everybody can afford them. The funny thing is diamonds are not actually rare (though they were in the past), because of higher interests the supplies of diamonds are limited to increase their value thus increasing their desirability.   

Robert Caldini states that scarcity is based off a similar phenomenon called reactance theory, which was first coined by psychologist Jack Brehm. Reactance theory effects one main component in driving human behaviour; our need to keep our freedoms. To elaborate; when our freedom to perform a certain behaviour is threatened or restricted, we have more desire to perform that behaviour. So when our free choice is limited/threatened by the restriction of something that we had access to before, we are motivated to regain control and possess the item more than we previously wanted to so we can maintain that free choice.

Much like when someone says to you ''I want to tell you something'' at that point your interested and offer to listen but your nonchalant about it, then not long after that they suddenly say ''actually don't worry about it, maybe I shouldn't tell you'' .... your interest has suddenly now peaked and your now hassling this person to tell you what they were going to tell you in the first place, you have pretty much changed your attitude simply because of the restriction of information you assumed you was getting anyway. That is how effective reactance theory can be.

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Human needs... its not just air, food and water.

Being interested in human psychology naturally helps you understand human needs which is a good foundation for this thought provoking subject, knowing this psychologist Abraham Maslow wanted to know what would motivate humans to achieve their own individual goals whether big or small. Interestingly enough according to Maslow these human needs weren't to be fulfilled at a random or casual order, these needs were taken care of in a sequence or order of importance so when one need was taken care of then the person will then advance to seek the next need up the hierarchy and so on. Maslow in 1943 developed a chart called the hierarchy of needs in which there are five needs in the chart and the lower the needs in the hierarchical order the more essential they are and the more likely the person will prioritize and give more attention to the lower need over the higher need, for instance when we are deprived of food the last thing on our mind is to go to a club to be social, meet people and improve our self esteem. 

Maslows Hierarchy of needs.

Types of needs

Deficiency needs

Believing that these needs are similar to instincts Maslow thought that these needs play a large part in the psychology that drives our behaviour. Physiological, security, social and esteem needs are deficiency needs otherwise known as D-needs, these needs motivate people when they are deprived or are threatened which cause people to take action to avoid bad feelings and negative consequences.

Growth needs

These needs are at the peak of the pyramid as opposed to deficiency needs where the motivation comes from a lack of something, growth needs tend to come from a place of wanting to grow as a person and learn about themselves and expand their own capacity to learn and reach their potential.

Hierarchy of needs

Physiological needs

These are the most basic needs as this need is heavily rooted in sustaining energy and survival, this will include food, water, air, sleep and recovering from injuries and illnesses.

Security needs

Another need with strong links to survival though not as demanding as physiological needs but still necessary. Security needs include shelter, safety, employment and a stable environment.

Social needs

Not as basic as the physiological and security needs this need is more of a psychological  and emotional need.  Its more of feeling of belonging whether it is a club, religious or community groups, friendships, relationships and family attachments also.

Esteem needs

After the last three are achieved you start to focus on your self worth and everything that you have experienced or have at that moment will be reflected onto your self image and your self worth will be in question until it is satisfied.


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Self actualization needs

At the top of the pyramid when you are attempting to satisfy this need you become more self aware, and are more likely to look at problems and challenges objectively, have less concern with peoples judgements and think about personal growth. Your thinking would shift to an existential sense (why am I here? what can I achieve if I really pushed myself) rather than the smaller material concerns (I want that car, I need a bigger house, I want popularity)

Though everybody is capable of moving up the hierarchy towards self actualization sometimes you may hit certain roadblocks which take you back a step or two away from self actualization such as losing your job and home which affects your lower needs such as food, water and safety, life experience can often cause a person to bounce between two needs.

Limitations to Maslows needs theory.

Even though Maslows hierarchy is widely known and is used by many professionals it is only used as a framework and used loosely. While some research do back up some of Maslows work other research by Mahmoud Wahba and Lawrence Bridwell showed the contrary stating that there is little or clear evidence that these needs come in any particular order and are hierarchical in nature.

Criticisms also suggest that self actualization is a concept difficult to research and measure and Maslow based his self actualization concept against mainly highly educated white males neglecting other races, cultures and the female gender, with the examination of cultures living in poverty lacking in food, water and security it has been made clear people can achieve higher ranking needs such as love, belonging and companionship, while according to Maslow physiological and security needs have to be met first in order for this to be possible. In the current age we live in Maslows needs do not hold well as peoples needs nowadays are met but not in a strict sequential fashion, his research should be used as a philosophical point of reference rather than a strict set of rules. 

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Understanding motivation.

Definition.

mo-ti-va-tion   [moh-tuh-vey-shuh-n]

Noun
1. the act or an instance or motivating, or providing with a reason to act a certain way: I don't understand her motivation was for quitting her job. Synonyms: motive, inspiration, inducement, cause, impetus.
2. the state or condition of being motivated: We know that these students have strong motivation to learn 
3. something that motivates; inducement; incentive: Clearly the companies motivation is profit.


Motivation is known as the reason behind an action or behaviour. This is the driving force and what causes us to begin and then commit to an action whether its going to the shop because you're hungry, going for a jog to get into shape, read a book to increase your knowledge etc. The list goes on. When finding your own motivations there are a few components to help build and maintain motivation.

Goal setting
When setting goals it is important to set them in a way that they are realistic and achievable, nothing will be more deflating than a goal which is far too unrealistic and out of reach. For example you may want to make £10,000 in 6 months but just this goal alone in its self can seem quite a feat depending on how much you are earning already. What you want to do is make mini-goals that will stream line themselves directly towards your main goal making it that much more easier to achieve. So once you have achieved one mini-goal you are one step closer to your main goal, then you focus on to the next mini-goal getting you closer again. Think of it as a staircase heading towards a treasure chest, each step is a mini-goal and the main goal is the treasure chest.

Extrinsic motivation
Extrinsic motivation is when someone is motived by an external incentive of one form or another. This can be a trophy at the end of a game, money to perform a deed, even praise from other people. A psychologist named Mark Lepper performed some psychology researched on motivation where he asked two groups of children to do some drawings. One group was promised a medal for the drawings whilst the other group was promised nothing. the children were given paper and crayons to do their work, what was observed was the reward group spent less time on their work than the no reward group, meaning the motivation of the reward pushed the children to work faster and harder in hope of receiving their medal. Lastly extrinsic motivations can come in many forms such as praise, money, prizes, medals trophies, recognition. It all depends on what you want and what you are after.

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Intrinsic motivation
A very simple motivational factor where you engage in an activity just for the sake of doing it, you have no reason to do it other than the enjoyment of it. This is actually is more powerful than extrinsic motivation because your very own values align with performing the activity itself meaning you doing it is part of your identity as a person (as cheesy as it sounds). For instance most people have a hobby which they are intrinsically motivated, a sport you like doing because you've being doing it since you were young or collect stamps because you love the look of them and keep them, even going to the gym because it makes you feel healthy and fit. Arguably intrinsic motivation is another word for passion and people who are passionate about what they do tend to get further than people who are extrinsically motivated.

Persistence
Persistence is a mixture of everything I have mentioned above but mostly it would relate to intrinsic motivation. This means actually pushing yourself to reach to the end of your overall goal despite all the hurdles, bumps and hiccups you will naturally encounter along the way. It takes a certain amount of drive to take punishment and keep pushing forward but the rewards always outweigh the punishment as the delay will make victory taste that much sweeter when you finally get it. 

Usually when you do something for the first time you never get it right straight away, you probably practised until you got the hang of it and now comfortable with it. Now imagine giving up at the first sign of trouble. Now imagine having that attitude with everything you do. You'd get nothing done. You'd essentially be weak as you wouldn't have the inner strength to see anything through. Nothing ever comes easy, you have to push yourself towards your maximum limit to get to where you want to be. Sometimes things make come easier than others but sometimes thats just one skill you've previously worked hard at already being translated into another skill. Similar to a professional journalist turning into a successful book writer.


''Persistence is the twin sister of excellence. One is a matter of quality, another is a matter of time.''
Author unknown

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