von Restorff effect: what it is and how it helps us to remember

This psychological phenomenon linked to perception and memory helps us to remember.

Let's do a mental exercise. Let's imagine someone leaves the following shopping list written down: potatoes, tuna, lettuce, tomatoes, ROB A BANKchicken breasts, crackers and salt. We let half an hour go by. What is more likely to be remembered?

The most likely is "rob a bank" since it is not an object, it is highlighted in capital letters and bold, and it stands out because it is so out of sync with what a normal shopping list would have.

The von Restorff effect is a phenomenon that occurs when a certain item or piece of information stands out from those around it, receiving greater prominence and, in turn, being easier to remember later. Let's take a closer look at what it consists of.

The von Restorff effect: what is it?

The von Restorff effect, also called the isolation effect, is basically the phenomenon that occurs when one or more elements that stand out are more likely to be remembered than others with which they are grouped. when there is a greater chance of remembering one or more elements that stand out compared to others with which they are grouped together..

This effect was first described by the German psychiatrist and pediatrician Hedwig von Restorff (1906-1962), who in 1933 determined that it was more likely to remember elements that stand out due to characteristics such as color, shape, and leaving the semantic group.....

Until then, it was thought that remembering something that simply stood out was due to how human attention works. It was held that that which attracted attention simply opted for greater prominence. However, based on what von Restorff saw in the 1930s, this greater prominence also has to do with how human memory works when it comes to encoding information that is different from that around it.

This conclusion was not really explained by Hedwig von Restorff at the time, although it laid the groundwork for researchers Emanuel Donchin and Monica Fabiani to conclude in 1995 that memory encodes information of different types in a consistently diverse way..

Returning to the case of the list mentioned at the beginning. When we are given such a list, what we expect is to find ordinary shopping products, which could be found under the semantic label 'shopping list'. If an item that falls outside the semantic label is introduced in this list, we are more likely to be aware of the existence of this item, and it is also more easily remembered in the long term.

Explanations for this phenomenon

There are different hypotheses that have tried to explain why we remember better the elements isolated or different from the rest of the group with which they are presented. One of the explanations is that the working memory stores for a longer time those elements that are different, in case they are of interest later, given their peculiarity.

Another approach argues that one of the reasons why isolated elements are better remembered is that, coming from another group or label, whether semantic, morphological or of any other kind, they are remembered as a separate group, smaller than the group of elements with which they have been presented, being easier to remember later.

It is currently held that since these elements, whether verbal, visual or of any other type, are an incongruity with respect to the rest of the elements with which they are presented, incongruence with respect to the rest of the elements with which they are presented, they are given different attention and, in turn, are remembered differently.In addition, they receive different attention and, in turn, are remembered in a different way.

Applications in everyday life.

Leaving aside a bit the theoretical explanations behind the von Restorff effect, let's see some utilities that this phenomenon has in everyday lifeThe von Restorff effect can be a great advantage especially in areas such as studying, at work or in marketing.

1. Study

Although many students probably do not know this effect or do not know how to call it by its name, the truth is that it is something in which they live immersed, especially during exam periods.

When you are reading a study book it is very common for the most important information to be explained in a different way from the rest of the page, such as in the form of a colored box, underlined or in bold type.For example, in the form of a colored box, underlined or in bold type.

In this way, special attention is focused on these elements, as well as making it easier to remember them.

But it is not only books and their creators who make use of the von Restorff effect themselves. Students, by underlining the information or elaborating it in the form of separate diagrams, they already make sure that they make it stand out..

Thus, by transforming information from written to visual form it is better remembered, since it becomes more prominent compared to the hundreds of lines of text from which it has been extracted.

2. Work environment

Although this is also related to the previous point, this effect can be a great ally in the workplace, especially in terms of work presentations.

When elaborating the slides of the presentation, elements can be incorporated to attract the attention of the audience.. Some of these can be different color titles, striking images, sounds, video fragments....

Everything that is out of the ordinary allows the audience to receive a greater impression of what they are seeing, remembering it later.

This can also make the presentation more enjoyable, preventing the presenter from making the audience feel bored and more nervous than they are.

3. Marketing

Finally, we will look at the benefits and uses of the von Restorff effect in marketing, which are used constantly and are not very difficult to understand.

When, for example, we go to a store, all the signs that say 'SALE', almost always in bright colors and in capital letters, are clearly making use of this very useful effect.

Also, in TV commercials, when the ad uses flashy colors, letters that change size and color, noises and loud music, among others, it is a way of using this useful effect.It is a way to attract the consumer's attention so that, when going to the supermarket, he/she remembers the product.

But sometimes these strategies are not as useful as you might think, especially if everyone uses the same thing to attract the consumer's attention. Since everything is the same, the consumer does not remember a specific brand.

This is why, from time to time, some brands change their strategy and, taking advantage of what the others don't do in their commercials and claims, call the consumer's attention.

Hace unos años, una marca de coches hizo un anuncio que era prácticamente mudo. Como en aquel entonces la mayoría de los anuncios, en especial los de coche, incorporaban música de acción, la marca que no usaba esta estrategia fue más recordada.

Referencias bibliográficas:

• Kelley, M. R. & Nairme, J. S. (2001) von Restorff Revisited: Isolation, generation and memory for order. Journal of Experimental Psychology; 27(1): 54-66.
• Fabiani, M. & Donchin, E. (1995) Encoding Processes and Memory Organization: A Model of the von Restorff Effect. Journal of Experimental Psychology; 21(1): 224-240.
• Gumenik, W. E. & Levitt, J. (1968) The Von Restorff Effect as a Function of Difference of the Isolated Item. The American Journal of Psychology; 81(2): 247-252.
• Green, R.T. (1956) Surprise as a factor in the von Restorff effect. Journal of Experimental Psychology; 52(5): 340-344.