Restorff effect
The Restorff effect was first demonstrated by the German psychologist Hedwig von Restorff (1906–1962). The effect describes the fact that you will remember better the contents that differ from the surroundings. This effect can thus be derived from the principle of good design . In the English language, this phenomenon is also known as the Von Restorff effect .
If the content of a learning series differs from one another in terms of the type of material used, those tasks or parts that differ in their nature from the majority of the others (so-called isolated parts) are retained better than those which are of the same nature as the majority of the others ( so-called homogeneous links).
Example of the Restorff effect
If you are presented with a series of letters that also contain a number, you will remember the number better than the rest of the letters. In general, one can say that minorities stand out and are therefore better remembered.
Continuation / addition:
During an experiment, test persons are read out rows of letters that supposedly make no sense. It is best for the test persons to keep the letter sequences that can be completed into words. This corresponds to the natural tendency to organize or structure things cognitively, which makes them easier to store in memory .
Related terms
literature
- Von Restorff, H. (1933): About the effect of area formations in the trace field. Psychology Research , 18, 299-34.
- Wiswede, Hasselbach, Rüsseler, Münte: Encoding in emotional situations - is there an emotional "von Restorff effect"? Proceedings of the 47th Conference of Experimental Psychologists, Regensburg, 2005
Individual evidence
- ↑ see Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ Arnold, Eysenck, Meili: Lexikon der Psychologie, Volume 3, Bechtermünz Verlag, 1996