Ovsiankina effect is a strong tendency to resume and complete interrupted tasks, a consequence of Zeigarnik effect.
Ovsiankina effect is closely related to Zeigarnik effect because in Zeigarnik effect, individuals tend to remember tasks that are interrupted better, a condition called recall memory.
Ovsiankina effect occurs because it is triggered by Zeigarnik effect and Zeigarnik effect can be explained by Kurt Lewin's Field Theory where behavior is a function of the individual and the surrounding cultural environment.
Despite receiving some criticism, both are applied in modern implementations.
One of the main points of Ovsiankina effect is quasi-value. A person may not attempt to complete an interrupted task in full if the urgency value is low. Although in general, most interrupted tasks trigger intrusive thoughts. This may underlie why these effects do not hold in certain cases or environmental conditions.
- Tasks that remain unfinished may lead to cognitive dissonance.
- Quasi needs tend to be proportional to their level of urgency.
- Interrupted memorable tasks result in system strain.
Intrusive thoughts
Intrusive thoughts are thoughts and feelings that are unpleasant, troublesome, difficult to manage, may become obsessions and a burden of thinking in themselves that are episodic and can be more intense the more they are suppressed.
On a more specific scale, intrusive thoughts characterize certain mental disorders and varying levels of impairment. Meanwhile, most normal individuals consider it a momentary disturbance that can be ignored or will disappear in some time. Intrusive thoughts are related to interruptions because interruptions often cause or trigger intrusive thoughts. For example, interruptions in the work environment are common but rarely or few make an effort to completion.
For example notifications. Getting notification messages when focused on a deadline or meeting causes discomfort and can disrupt the quality of work, in the form of intrusive thoughts, if the message is also followed by urgency. On the other hand, individuals often ignore or even try to suppress these thoughts, which actually increases the intensity of the intrusion. Overreacting to this condition can actually increase obsession, anxiety, and may require treatment.
Interruptions in the work environment are a challenging subject of study, especially in high-risk work environments where interruptions can cause human error which can lead to accidents or other vital risks. On the other hand, individual multitasking abilities can increase work productivity, efficiency, at the same time, if management of time and mental resources is not followed, it will cause systemic problems, for example, unfinished tasks will trigger continuous intrusive thoughts during the working period and if left to continue will causing a significant reduction in work quality.
- Sorting intrusive thoughts based on their urgency will help complete them more quickly and efficiently.
- Thinking rationally and not excessively helps reduce the after-effects of intrusions such as wild, harmful and aggressive thoughts.
- Usually followed by intrusive behavior depending on how the individual reacts and other factors such as social and environmental factors that may worsen the condition.
- Intrusions are sometimes continuous even after completion, may be related to obsession and high anxiety and low levels of satisfaction.
Interruptions in the industry
Interruptions are not only observed in the work environment. In other domains, interruptions also have a significant impact, for example in Medicine, the use of smartphones in health-care settings and trauma center activities can cause levels of bad relationships and be dangerous for doctors, nurses and patients, momentary distractions as a consequence of activities related to mobile devices or similar trigger interrupts and error handling.
In aviation, interruptions are also one of the factors causing pilot errors and accidents in flights.
On the other hand, interruptions have become a phenomenon in themselves and are used as a marketing medium to decision making. For example, in Advertising and Entertainments, the media utilizes the cliffhanger effect and questionable promotion to attract consumer attention, while in Productivity and Education, interruptions can help evaluate the performance of students and professionals to increase the efficiency of completing tasks. In the gaming and mobile platforms industry, the terms SaaS and gamification are known and utilize the effects of both (Ovsiankina and Zeigarnik) to increase the progress and success of user requirements.
- Gamification followed by competition tends to trigger addiction.
- Frequent interruptions actually trigger stress.