Interruption, recall and resumption: a meta-analysis of the Zeigarnik and Ovsiankina effects
Ghibellini and Meier pooled 59 publications on the Zeigarnik and Ovsiankina effects. Across 38 publications the ratio of average recall, interrupted to completed, was 0.99, and the authors report no memory advantage for unfinished tasks. Across 21 publications on resumption the rate was 67.00 per cent, 66.79 per cent without Ovsiankina's own data, and resumption was related to task attractiveness. They suggest the Zeigarnik effect may depend on experimenter authority, situational demands and involvement.
Ghibellini and Meier pooled 59 publications on the Zeigarnik and Ovsiankina effects. Across 38 publications the ratio of average recall, interrupted to completed, was 0.99, and the authors report no memory advantage for unfinished tasks. Across 21 publications on resumption the rate was 67.00 per cent, 66.79 per cent without Ovsiankina's own data, and resumption was related to task attractiveness. They suggest the Zeigarnik effect may depend on experimenter authority, situational demands and involvement.
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Ghibellini, R., & Meier, B. (2025). Interruption, recall and resumption: a meta-analysis of the Zeigarnik and Ovsiankina effects. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12, article 962. doi:10.1057/s41599-025-05000-w.