Daily Mysteries #1: Why do we often forget what we just left the room to do?

mcfarhat (70)in #steemstem • 7 years ago (edited)

So if you've been recently following me, I've written a series of articles about debunking misconceptions.
I decided to take a break from that since I had a new topic that I believe is interesting enough, and thought to shed some light upon. I might as well be starting a parallel series entitled "Daily Mysteries", which you would probably have guessed already due to the title #1. Stating the obvious, I know, right ?

Anyhow, back to our main topic.

So if you're like me, many times I walk into the kitchen, with the "intention" to grab my car keys, while all of a sudden, I completely forget what I went there to do. Or maybe head to the bathroom to grab a towel, and poof..blank! I would be turning around like crazy trying to figure out, did I need to pee? take a shower? who knows?!
This happens quite frequently, many of my friends also mention similar occurrences, which made me scratch my head (no i did not go to the bathroom and forget to bathe) for an answer.
And you know when I scratch my head, some research is about to kick off!

This is a well known phenomenon!

So apparently, it's not that i'm getting old. Nor is this the result of an Alzheimer's disease.
This situation, where one goes to perform an action and completely blanks out as to what that is, is a scientific/psychological effect termed as:

The Doorway Effect !

And while it is called doorway effect, which is often attributed to this forgetfulness happening while moving from one room to another, as in passing through a doorway, yet it equally occurs due to any change of scenario or threshold, such as for example getting interrupted while talking.

Why does it happen?

This effect is attributed to a psychological concept known as context-dependent memory. I.e., when you memorize an idea or a thought, it is best recalled when you are in the same context as to which the idea originally generated.
According to a study conducted in 2011 by Professor Gabriel Radvansky, of the Notre Dame University in Indiana, he explains that

Entering or exiting through a doorway serves as an 'event boundary' in the mind, which separates episodes of activity and files them away.

He conducted three experiments, which required performing memory tasks while moving across a doorway, which all led to the result of subjects often forgetting what they were required to do.

...research has shown that environmental factors affect memory and that information learned in one environment is retrieved better when the retrieval occurs in the same context

A more thorough explanation of this is the fact that our memory and attention span work at different levels, and priorities.
This doorway effect represents the exact shift in priorities, with the intended action shifting down the hierarchy of activities required to complete the whole process. While moving through a doorway is a good initiator for this shift, yet any other distraction would cause another thought to prevail over the intended action, and hence cause you to forget what that "lesser" priority was.

So in short. Yes, this is completely normal. No we are not crazy. Thank you science!

Hopefully next time that you forget what you were doing, you would remember the doorway effect!

Thank you for stopping by!
@mcfarhat

Prior Posts:

If you enjoyed this post, you might want to check out my earlier posts from the "Misconceptions" series:

References:

Photo Credits:

Pixabay - Sophieja23

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